Department for Transport

Cycling: Accidents

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will estimate the number of deaths and serious injuries of cyclists that were attributable to poorly-maintained local roads since 2010.

Andrew Jones: There were 211 pedal cyclist KSIs (killed or seriously injured casualties) in reported road accidents allocated the contributory factor “Poor or Defective road surface” on local roads (for England) or all non-motorway roads (for Scotland and Wales) from 2010 to 2014. A local road has been defined as a road maintained by the local authority. The following table shows the totals for each of the separate years:   GBA1BOther2Total2010103173020111392345201211627442013107223920141682953Total60331182111 Includes A roads maintained by Transport Scotland and the Welsh Government.2 Includes C and unclassified roads. The contributory factors reflect the reporting officer’s opinion at the time of reporting and are not necessarily the result of extensive investigation. Moreover it is recognised that subsequent enquires could lead to the reporting officer changing their opinion. It is important to note where some factors may have contributed to a cause of an accident it may be difficult for a police officer attending the scene after the accident has occurred to identify these factors.

Bus Services

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2015 to Question 19489, when the Buses Bill will be introduced into Parliament.

Andrew Jones: The Buses Bill is currently being drafted. The precise time of its introduction will be dependent on Parliamentary business.

Midland Main Railway Line

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the extent and effectiveness of wifi and telephone signal coverage on the Midland Mainline route.

Claire Perry: On all Department for Transport-controlled rail franchises, in England and Wales, free Wi-Fi is being introduced. All train operators bidding for new franchises and direct award agreements will have to present a phased implementation plan for free Wi-Fi. Currently c30% of train carriages operating within the DfT controlled franchises and serving c50% of rail passenger journeys have Wi-Fi available. We have committed that 90% of passenger journeys will benefit from free Wi-Fi by the end of 2018. East Midlands Trains is upgrading its Wi-Fi services, on approximately 70% of their trains, to deliver at least 15 minutes free wi-fi to passengers travelling in standard class by Autumn 2016. Reliability and availability of mobile broadband and telephone services on trains can be an issue, partly due to physical barriers to radio signals reaching the railway track, include railway cuttings and tunnels and due to signal weakening, called attenuation, caused by train carriage walls and windows. On-train Wi-Fi addresses some of the reliability issues as will the ongoing roll-out of the 4G networks by mobile network operators. However we recognise that there is more to do that will require enhancements to trackside infrastructure. That’s why we are working with the rail and telecommunications industries to reach a shared understanding of the technical and commercial challenges, and seek out potential solutions. Our current assessment forecasts that between 68% and 85% of the UK rail network will have 4G mobile network coverage by the end of 2017. There is no separate assessment of the Midlands Mainline route.

Rolling Stock

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress his Department has made on implementing plans for new Intercity Express Programme and Thameslink rolling stock.

Claire Perry: Both rolling stock programmes are on schedule with the first trains for each undergoing testing on the network as planned. Thameslink trains will enter passenger service this spring and IEP trains will enter service on the Great Western Main Line from 2017 and the East Coast Main Line from 2018. The investment in infrastructure together with these fleets of modern trains will deliver increased peak time capacity, reliability and improved connections that will transform journeys for passengers on routes in the South East, through London and out to Scotland and Wales.

Roads: Safety

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the effect of changes in local authority funding announced in the Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015 on road safety strategies in local authorities.

Andrew Jones: Local authorities are responsible for road safety on the local road network. They are required by statute to promote road safety which will involve undertaking collision/casualty data analysis and to devise programmes, including engineering and road user education, training and publicity that will improve road safety. It is up to individual authorities to determine how they meet their “statutory duty”. Following the 2015 Spending Review the Government will continue to provide funding through the Integrated Transport block for local highway authorities to support small-scale initiatives, including road safety schemes. This funding is not ring-fenced and gives local authorities the freedom to develop and implement solutions which best suit their localities. Funding for local safety schemes is also available through both the Local Growth Fund and the Government’s Cycle City Ambition Grants.

Cycling

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding for cycling (a) London and (b) each of the cities which received Cycle City Ambition Grants received in 2014-15; and what the average level of such funding other areas received in that period.

Mr Robert Goodwill: CYCLE FUNDING FOR LONDON The Department for Transport provides the Greater London Authority with a substantial transport grant for Transport for London (TfL). It is for TfL and ultimately the Mayor of London to decide how best to prioritise spending the grant. CYCLING CITY FUNDING CYCLING CITIES GRANT RECIPIENTSRegion2013/14 capital (£m)2014/15 capital (£m)Total Funding Allocation for 2014-15 (£m)Newcastle City CouncilNorth East5.7-5.7Cambridgeshire County CouncilEast of England2.21.94.1Bristol City CouncilSouth West1.66.27.8Manchester (Transport for Greater Manchester)North West20.0-20.0Birmingham City CouncilWest Midlands17.0-17.0West Yorkshire ITA (covering Leeds and Bradford)Yorkshire and the Humber18.1-18.1Norwich City CouncilEast of England1.12.63.7Oxfordshire County CouncilSouth East-0.80.8Total Cities Grants 65.6m11.5m77.2m In 2014-15 the Department for Transport awarded the Cycling Cities Ambition grants to improve and develop cycling facilities and infrastructure. Some of the cities received their funding upfront in 2013-14 under the Cities Deal arrangement. Only four cities received funding in 2014-15. REGIONAL FUNDING REGIONS RECEIVING CYCLE FUNDING 2014/15 – DfT   £m2014/15 - Total (DfT + Local Contribution) £mEast Midlands3.613.4East of England4.719.3North East4.317.5North West8.734.1South East10.037.8South West8.137.1West Midlands7.325.7Yorkshire & Humber5.328.2Total Regions Average Funding52.0m213.1m The 2014-15 figures include some funding streams, such as the Local Sustainable Transport Fund, which benefit a range of locations across England and cannot be easily disaggregated. The figures above therefore contain elements of funding which also benefit the eight cycle cities.

Cycling and Walking

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 66 of his Department's Road Investment Strategy Investment Plan, how much of the five ring-fenced investment funds totalling £675 million has been allocated to cycling and walking infrastructure projects.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Highways England has committed to provide a safer, integrated and more accessible strategic road network for cyclists and other vulnerable road users such as pedestrians. Through the first Road Investment Strategy for Highways England, £175 million has been made available between 2015 and 2020 to improve the safety of the Strategic Road Network and improve conditions for cyclists and other road users. The Highways England delivery plan states that £78 million will be used to improve conditions for those cycling alongside and crossing the Strategic Road Network. The remaining £97 million will be used to enhance the safety of our network, with £20 million of this specifically targeted at improving facilities to provide a more accessible and integrated network, which will also benefit pedestrians.

Thameslink Railway Line

Mr Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to transfer services operated by Govia Thameslink Railway to Transport for London.

Claire Perry: As announced on 21 January, (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/transport-secretary-and-mayor-set-out-vision-for-rail-travel-across-london-and-the-south-east) we launched a prospectus with regard to the future of rail passenger services in London and the South East. The prospectus included a number of proposals, one of which is the transfer of responsibility for inner suburban services that operate mostly or wholly within Greater London to Transport for London when the current franchises are due for renewal. This could include inner suburban rail services currently operated by Govia Thameslink Railway. These are still proposals and no decisions have been made nor plans drawn up. Our key focus now is to seek the views of stakeholders including Local Enterprise Partnerships, local authorities and other local bodies before plans are drawn up. The deadline for our consultation is 18 March.

Railways: Greater London

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department's financial contribution is to Transport for London related to its decision to raise the cost of regulated rail fares in London by the rate of the Retail Price Index.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The 2015 Spending Review settlement confirmed that the Government will be providing around £11 billion of support to Transport for London (TfL) over the period from 2015/16 to 2020/21. In determining the overall amount of support for TfL, my Department and HM Treasury took into account a wide range of factors, including TfL’s likely income from rail fares.

Manchester Metrolink

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will meet the hon. Member for Oldham West and Royton and local authority officials to discuss the proposal for an Ashton Loop Line and Middleton Spur extension to Greater Manchester's Metrolink tram system.

Mr Robert Goodwill: If the hon Member contacts my departmental office I would of course be happy to consider his request in the normal way.

Railways: Repairs and Maintenance

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the statement on page 1 of Network Rail's report, Replanning the Investment Programme, published on 25 November 2015, that there will be a reduction in renewals activity in Control Period 5, what renewal works Network Rail intends to defer into Control Period 6; and what the planned expenditure was on those works in Control Period 5.

Claire Perry: The Office of Rail and Road’s Final Determination for Control Period 5[1] assumed that Network Rail would spend £12.1bn on renewals between 2014-2019. Network Rail is reviewing its plans for the coming financial year and will publish an updated Delivery Plan in March containing detailed forward plans for the delivery of operations, maintenance and renewals up to 2019. [1] http://orr.gov.uk/publications/reports/final-determination

Department for Communities and Local Government

Sleeping Rough

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many rough sleepers have been helped by the No Second Night Out Across England programme; and what proportion of those people were successfully kept off the streets.

Mr Marcus Jones: Rapid intervention is vital to identifying new rough sleepers and ensuring that the support is in place to help them off the streets quickly. The longer someone sleeps rough, the greater the risk that they will become entrenched on the streets. That is why we invested in rolling out No Second Night Out across England through the £20 million Homelessness Transition Fund. Over two-thirds of rough sleepers in 20 key areas outside London did not spend a second night on the streets.The Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society. But one person without a home is one too many, which is why we will increase central investment over the next four years to £139 million for innovative programmes to prevent and reduce homelessness and rough sleeping. We have also protected homelessness prevention funding for local authorities, through the provisional local government finance settlement, totalling £315 million by 2019-20.Data on the number of people helped through the Fund is in an independent evaluation, published by Homeless Link: http://www.homeless.org.uk/sites/default/files/site-attachments/Three%20Years%20of%20Transition%20-%20summary%20evaluation%20report.pdf.

English Language: Education

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the £20 million funding for English language tuition to isolated women announced by the Prime Minister on 18 January 2016 will come from the Home Department's counter-terrorism budget.

Mr Marcus Jones: No. The £20 million community-based English language training offer is new funding which will be routed through DCLG and will form part of its Integration Programme.

Refuges

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of the £3 million fund to increase provision of safe accommodation with specialist support for victims of domestic violence has been allocated.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many applications his Department has received to the £3 million fund to increase provision of safe accommodation with specialist support for victims of domestic violence.

Mr Marcus Jones: My Department received 74 applications from across England for funding from the £3 million fund to increase the provision of safe accommodation with specialist support for victims of domestic abuse.Given the high quality of the bids received we increased the fund to £3.5 million to support additional bids for safe accommodation and specialist support for victims of domestic violence.We announced the successful bids on 11 December 2015 (see the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/35-million-awarded-to-make-sure-domestic-abuse-victims-get-help). In total we are supporting 46 bids which will deliver 710 new bedspaces and support for 3,798 victims.Over the Spending Review period we have committed £40 million of funding to support the victims of domestic abuse.

Refuges

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to monitor whether the number of refugee places for victims of domestic violence is increasing or decreasing.

Mr Marcus Jones: We have invested over £280,000 in UK Refuges on Line (UKROL) to monitor the number of refuge bedspaces around the country to ensure that victims get the support that they need. It will also ensure victims calling the National Domestic Violence Helpline looking for refuge get additional help in finding the support they need.Domestic abuse is a devastating crime that shatters lives. That is why we are committed to ensuring that no victim is turned away from the support they need. To support this ambition, we have committed long term fund of £40 million over the next four years which will offer support to victims of domestic abuse. This increased funding, which triples our funding in the last spending period, complements Government’s wider approach and support for violence against women and children’s services, which will be set out in the forthcoming refresh of the Strategy.

Floods: European Union Solidarity Fund

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government intends to apply to the EU Solidarity Fund to help support those affected by the recent flooding.

James Wharton: The Government will consider an application once the full costs are known. The European Union Solidarity Fund does not provide additional funding to local areas, but simply reimburses emergency costs that the Government would have incurred anyway. For this reason, the Government’s immediate priority remains dealing with the urgent needs of those affected, which is why we have provided just under £200 million to help those affected by the floods to support recovery and repair.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Cybercrime

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many employees in his Department have (a) taken the CESG Certified Cyber-Security Training Course and (b) received other relevant cyber-security training.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Holding answer received on 27 January 2016



HM Government takes the cyber security training of its staff extremely seriously. There are a range of cyber security courses available depending on the role of specific staff; including the e-learning course, ‘Responsible for Information’ which is available to all civil servants on the Civil Service Learning Website. This course, the development of which was funded through the National Cyber Security Programme, addresses information security, including cyber security. There are different modules for general users, Information Asset Owners, Senior Information Risk Owners, and Board and Non—Executive Board members. To date over 487,000 civil servants have taken the course.

India: MV Seaman Guard Ohio

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Indian government on the case of Nick Dunn, Billy Irving, Ray Tindall, Paul Towers, John Armstrong and Nicholas Simpson.

Mr Hugo Swire: I refer the hon. Member my answer of 14 January to Parliamentary Question 21057.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: World Economic Forum

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he visited the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2016, in his official capacity.

Mr Hugo Swire: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) did not attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2016.

Bahrain: Politics and Government

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support the extension of democracy in Bahrain.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Governance of Bahrain is a matter for all political parties in Bahrain. We encourage all political parties, to engage constructively in political dialogue in order to reach an inclusive political settlement. Although we were disappointed by the opposition’s decision to boycott the 2014 elections, we commended the participation of a broad range of candidates which saw 14 independent Shia candidates win seats, of which three were women.We regularly discuss human rights and reform with the Government of Bahrain including at the biannual UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group meeting which was most recently held in November 2015. Reform programme activities delivered through the Causeway Institute have used lessons from Northern Ireland to improve community outreach and communication – particularly to a youth audience.

Hasan Mushaima

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Bahraini government on Mr Hassan Mushaima receiving appropriate medical treatment while in custody.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are aware of the case of Hassam Mushiema and we have raised it with the Government of Bahrain. We continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments and to appropriately address all reports of ill-treatment of detainees. We also encourage all those with concerns about their treatment in detention to report these directly to the Ombudsman.

Bahrain: Human Rights

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Bahrain.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We regularly discuss human rights and reform with the Government of Bahrain including at the biannual UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group meeting which was most recently held in November 2015. The UK continues to encourage the Government of Bahrain to meet its human rights obligations and to honour all conventions to which it is a party. We welcome the progress made by Bahrain on their reform programme particularly in the areas of youth justice, the establishment and increasing effectiveness of the Ombudsman’s office, the Prisoner and Detainees’ Rights Commission and the reformed National Institute of Human Rights. We continue to work with the Government of Bahrain to ensure momentum and progress on its reforms, for the benefit of all Bahrainis.

Syria: Military Intervention

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether any person or body has sought disclosure of documents relevant to the decision to target Reyaad Khan by drone strike in Syria on 21 August 2015 for purposes related to the inquiry by the Intelligence and Security Committee into that matter.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether any person or body has sought disclosure of his Department's legal advice on the drone strike that killed Reyaad Khan for purposes related to the inquiry by the Intelligence and Security Committee on that matter.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) gave to the hon. Member for Blaydon (Mr. Anderson) on Monday 25 January 2016, UIN23433.

Gibraltar: Spain

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Spanish counterpart on recent illegal entry into Gibraltarean waters by Spanish vessels.

Mr David Lidington: The Government continues to make diplomatic protests to Spain with respect to all incursions into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW). Since the agreement of August 2015 to prioritise safety at sea and to step up law enforcement cooperation, there have been fewer incursions that have raised safety concerns and work on improving cooperation between law enforcement agencies is ongoing. Neither I nor the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond ), have therefore had cause to raise incursions into BGTW with our Spanish counterparts since my response to Written Question 11709 on 22 October 2015.

Afghanistan: Politics and Government

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) security situation in Afghanistan, (b) extent of the Deash presence in Afghanistan and (c) nature of the relationship between Daesh and the Taliban.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) continue to provide security in the vast majority of the country, but in some parts of Afghanistan the situation is fluid as Taliban forces seek to put ANDSF under pressure. NATO and US continue to train, advise and assist the ANDSF. We assess that the Daesh affiliate in Afghanistan and Pakistan aims to expand its presence in Nangarhar Province in the east of Afghanistan. They are subject to military action by Afghan and US forces and they also face resistance from the Taliban with whom they are competing for influence.

Privy Council Office Judicial Committee

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the cost to the public purse was of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council acting as final court of appeal for Commonwealth relations in 2015.

Mr Hugo Swire: The administration of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council administration has been the responsibility of the UK Supreme Court (UKSC) and its costs are integrated with those for running the UKSC. Accordingly it is not possible to identify precisely those costs which are attributable to the JCPC.In 2014 – 2015, however, which is the latest financial year for which figures are available, the JCPC accounted for approximately 33% of the number of cases heard by both courts and 29% of the number of sitting days in both courts. On the basis of the average of both options the JCPC can notionally be regarded as consuming 31% of the total gross expenditure of both courts. In 2014 – 2015 this was £12.44 million, which means the JCPC’s share of this is notionally £3.85 million. Costs are offset by the £316,000 raised from fees charged to JCPC litigants.

Privy Council Office Judicial Committee

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many cases were referred to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the final court of appeal by Commonwealth realms in 2015; and how many such cases were referred to that Committee by each realm.

Mr Hugo Swire: The total number of cases submitted to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) from Commonwealth countries in 2015 is not currently available.

Bahrain: Political Prisoners

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of political prisoners in Bahrain; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We do not hold such details. However, we regularly discuss human rights and reform with the Government of Bahrain - including at the biannual UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group meeting which was most recently held in November 2015. If we have specific concerns around specific cases, we raise these with the Government of Bahrain.

Bahrain: Politics and Government

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the perceptions of the Shia in Bahrain as to the legitimacy of the Alkhalifa government in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We follow the political situation closely in Bahrain, including Shia interests. We encourage all political parties, to engage constructively in political dialogue in order to reach an inclusive political settlement. Despite the opposition’s decision to boycott the 2014 elections, we commended the participation of a broad range of candidates which saw 14 independent Shia candidates win seats, of which three were women.

Hasan Mushaima

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Bahraini government on ensuring the health of Mr Hassan Mushiema; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are aware of the case of Hassam Mushiema and we have raised it with the Government of Bahrain. We continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments and to appropriately address all reports of ill-treatment of detainees. In parallel, we encourage all those with concerns about their treatment in detention to report these directly to the Ombudsman.

UK Membership of EU

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the views of Britain's Overseas Territories are represented during his renegotiation of the UK's relationship with Europe.

Mr David Lidington: I outlined the Government’s objectives for reform of the European Union at the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in December 2015. Representatives of the Overseas Territories met on two occasions last year with officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to discuss the renegotiation agenda. The JMC Communiqué acknowledges the interests of the Territories in the forthcoming referendum and recognises the strength and importance of the relationship between the Territories and the EU. It also confirms that we will continue to consult the Territories in order for their views on reform to be taken into account. Gibraltar has particular interest, being a European territory, and Gibraltarians will vote in the referendum. I have held discussions with the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, most recently on 2 February, and officials have been in regular contact. The Government of Gibraltar shares this Government’s aim of the UK and Gibraltar remaining part of a reformed EU.

Bahrain: Shia

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of recent trends in the relative size of the Shia population in Bahrain; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not carried out an assessment on this. We refer to various published sources, including those from the Government of Bahrain and international organisations such as the United Nations and World Bank.

Syria: Refugees

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking with his EU counterparts to persuade Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to (a) accept a similar number of Syrian refugees as Jordan and (b) increase their financial support for such refugees.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK actively engages with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, including Saudi Arabia, on humanitarian and development assistance, and the Gulf States continue to contribute generously to humanitarian support for the Syria crisis. Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar are amongst the top ten bilateral aid donors. Contributions from these four Gulf States to UN appeals alone amounts to over $2.5bn. Additionally Kuwait chairs the Top Donor Group and has hosted three pledging conferences. Kuwait is also one of the co-hosts of the London Syria Donors Conference on 4 February. The Gulf States are also contributing through regional charities. For example, the UAE funds the Emirates Jordan camp which houses over 6,000 refugees.The Gulf States are not signatories to the UN Refugee Convention of 1951, and there is no legal refugee status in these countries. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians are living in Gulf States as migrant workers or on visitors’ visas. The EU is also engaging the Gulf States on the resettlement of Syrian refugees.

Bahrain: Politics and Government

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on support for the self-determination movement in Bahrain; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: On the matters of self-determination and legitimate government, we believe that governance of Bahrain is a matter for all political parties in Bahrain. That is why we encourage all political parties, including Al Wefaq who boycotted elections in November 2014, to engage constructively in political dialogue in order to reach an inclusive political settlement. Although we were disappointed by the opposition’s decision to boycott the 2014 elections, we commended the participation of a broad range of candidates which saw 14 independent Shia candidates win seats, of which three were women.

Bahrain: Politics and Government

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the report of Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain on the Bahraini government's implementation of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We have noted the report by Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain which assesses the progress the Government of Bahrain is making against the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry Report (BICI). In June 2014, the UN Human Rights Council presented similar findings by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. That is why we continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to ensure full implementation of the BICI recommendations, as well as those accepted in their UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review, and we are offering UK assistance to help them achieve this.

Saudi Arabia: Military Aid

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2016 to Question 22031, whether he has received any reports from UK personnel working with the Saudi military of (a) negligent and (b) inadvertent potential breaks of international humanitarian law.

Mr Philip Hammond: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether the 119 Saudi-led coalition sorties documented in the Final Report of the UN Panel of Experts in Yemen represent potential violations of international humanitarian law.

Mr Philip Hammond: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what actions he has taken as a result of receiving the Final Report of the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen.

Mr Philip Hammond: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the government of Saudi Arabia following receipt of the Final Report of the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen.

Mr Philip Hammond: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when the Government first received the Final Report of the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen.

Mr Philip Hammond: Although this is a leaked document, we are aware of the report and are looking at the conclusions carefully. We recognise the importance of the work of the UN Panel of Experts and we are taking the allegations raised in the report seriously.

Syria: Military Intervention

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Russian government following the Russian airstrike in Hazzano, Syria, which damaged the bakery funded by the Department for International Development.

Mr David Lidington: We have repeatedly made clear to the Russian Government our serious concerns about its bombing campaign in Syria. We have consistently called on Russia to focus its targeting on Daesh and to cease the targeting of moderate opposition groups. We have also expressed concern over the numbers of civilian casualties being reported as a result of Russian strikes.The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has raised our concerns about Russia’s approach with Foreign Minister Lavrov, including at meetings of the International Syria Support Group. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), discussed Syria with President Putin at the G20 Summit in Antalya, and in a telephone conversation on 9 December following Parliament’s vote to support military action against Daesh in Syria.

Northern Ireland Office

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress is being made through the British-Irish Council on tackling alcohol misuse throughout the British Isles.

Mr Ben Wallace: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office who are the lead Department. The British-Irish Council facilitates and fosters collaboration among member administrations and provides a forum where issues, such as substance misuse, can be discussed. The use and misuse of alcohol was the theme of the British-Irish Council Ministerial Summit hosted by the Irish Government in June 2015 on which the following communiqué was issued: http://www.britishirishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/communiqu%C3%A9s/24%20-%20Twenty%20Fourth%20Summit%20-%20Dublin%20-%2019%20June%202015.pdf

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Trade Promotion: Human Rights

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what formal assessments UKTI has made of potential risks to human rights of the Tradeshow Access Programme; and what guidelines or criteria were used for those assessments.

Anna Soubry: There has been no formal assessment of potential risks to human rights of the Tradeshow Access Programme. However, companies using the programme are bound by UK law and exports are made in accordance with the UK’s strict export control legislation and in respect of all relevant international treaties and obligations.

Trade Promotion: United Arab Emirates

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which companies received funding under the Tradeshow Access Programme to attend the Dubai security fair.

Anna Soubry: 59 businesses have applied for Tradeshow Access Programme funding in support of their exhibiting costs at the Dubai security fair 2016. Funding will not be issued to the applicants until there is confirmation of attendance and eligibility for support. A list of supported business will be made available once they have received their funding.

Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education: Performance Standards

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how long on average the Office of the Independent Adjudicator took to close a case in 2015.

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Office of the Independent Adjudicator is able to send the complaint outcome to the complainant and member higher education provider within 90 days of the reviewer's determination that the file is complete.

Joseph Johnson: The Office of the Independent Adjudicator’s Annual Report (2014), which contains the latest published figures available, states that it took an average of 207 days to close a complaint from the time the student first submitted a complaint form. Provisional figures indicate that improvements have been made since then and the 2015 Annual Report is likely to show a significant reduction in this figure. The European Directive on Alternative Dispute Resolution, which came into force on 9 July 2015, now requires dispute resolution bodies such as the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) to issue complaint outcomes within 90 days of receiving the full complaint file, unless the case is highly complex. The OIA and other alternative dispute resolution bodies are required to report to the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, which is monitoring compliance with the Directive.

Leisure and Retail Trade: Conditions of Employment

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the prevalence of the practice in the retail and leisure sectors of sending employees home during their shift without notice.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will takes steps to ban the practice in the retail and leisure sectors of sending employees home during their shift without notice.

Nick Boles: We encourage employers to be clear with their staff up front on how work will be structured. However, the way in which work is arranged, or how shifts are decided upon will depend on each situation and sector. A ‘one size fits all’ solution would not be appropriate. Where appropriate, Government publishes guidance. For instance, we recently considered the issue of late notice cancellation of shifts for those on zero hours contracts and have published updated guidance on gov.uk.

Sheffield Forgemasters: Trident Submarines

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions his Department has had with the Ministry of Defence on the future of Sheffield Forgemasters and the successor programme.

Anna Soubry: My Department is in regular contact with MoD on a wide range of supply chain issues including in the steel sector. These discussions include individual steel plants such as Sheffield Forgemasters.

Green Investment Bank: Privatisation

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of differences in the ability of the Green Investment Bank to promote the (a) reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, (b) advance of efficiency in the use of natural resources, (c) protection or enhancement of the natural environment, (d) protection of enhancement of biodiversity and (e) promotion of environmental sustainability as a (i) public and (ii) private sector organisation.

Anna Soubry: The Green Investment Bank (GIB) contributes to UK green policy objectives by mobilising much needed private capital into green sectors, demonstrating that green investment can be profitable. GIB will continue to perform that role in private ownership - increasing investment and making profits from green sectors that are relatively mature but nevertheless suffer from a lack of investment. In private hands, GIB will have access to much more capital than if it remained in Government hands and will be able to have a bigger impact.

Green Investment Bank: Privatisation

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of differences in the ability of the Green Investment Bank to secure investment in (a) offshore wind power generation, (b) commercial and industrial waste processing and recycling, (c) energy from waste generation, (d) non-domestic energy efficiency and (e) support for the Green Deal as (i) public and (ii) private sector organisation.

Anna Soubry: The Green Investment Bank (GIB) contributes to UK green policy objectives by mobilising much needed private capital into green sectors, demonstrating that green investment can be profitable. GIB will continue to perform that role in private ownership - increasing investment and making profits from green sectors that are relatively mature but nevertheless suffer from a lack of investment.

Immigration: STEM 
Subjects

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to promote opportunities for study and work in the UK to highly-skilled migrants with qualifications in STEM subjects.

Sajid Javid: We extend a warm welcome to international students in all subjects, and there is no cap on the number that can come here. The UK remains the second most popular destination for international students. Through the Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) Visa we are also providing opportunities for highly talented scientists to work in the UK and contribute to our economy. In the year to September 2015, there were 108 Tier 1 (exceptional talent) visas granted. Government scholarships play an important role in promoting study in the UK. In 2015-16 we tripled the number of awards for Chevening scholars, and we will bring over 5,500 scholars to the UK over the next four years.

Renewable Energy: Scotland

Natalie McGarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the effect of government policy on the renewables industry in Scotland.

Anna Soubry: I work closely with my Ministerial colleagues at the Department of Energy and Climate Change to support growth in the renewables industry right across the UK, including in Scotland. We are determined to achieve higher levels of UK content in our energy infrastructure. Scotland has benefitted from over £6 billion of investment into the Scottish renewable energy sector since 2010.

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent steps he has taken to support the steel industry.

Sajid Javid: We are taking clear action to help the steel industry. We’re cutting electricity costs, tackling unfair trade, updating procurement guidance, introducing flexibility in emissions regulations and reviewing business rates. That is what the steel industry has asked for and that is what we are delivering.

Overseas Companies: Human Rights

Corri Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if the Government will bring forward proposals to enable the prosecution of UK businesses through the UK courts for breaches of human rights abroad when the UK's National Action Plan to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights is next updated.

Anna Soubry: Victims of overseas human rights abuses by UK businesses can already seek redress through UK courts. We have one of the few jurisdictions in the world where this can happen. I am proud it was a Conservative government that introduced the Modern Slavery Act, which requires companies to report on steps they have taken to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in its supply chains.

Small Businesses: Finance

Mr Geoffrey Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many small businesses have received financial assistance from (a) peer to peer lenders and (b) other sources in the last 12 months.

Anna Soubry: Recent figures from the peer-to-peer finance association show that their members had 225,000 loans outstanding in the third quarter of 2015 and that over half of these by value were to businesses. That is a 108,000 increase on the previous year. Other sources such as crowdfunding are growing equally fast, and lending to smaller businesses from the banks has been recovering strongly. 80% of loan and overdraft applications to SMEs were successful in the 18 months to Q3 2015 , up from 68% in Q4 2013 (SME Finance Monitor)

Department for International Development

Latin America: Zika Virus

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department offers to countries affected by the Zika virus.

Mr Nick Hurd: The UK has been at the forefront of global efforts to ensure the World Health Organisation (WHO) has the funding, expertise and systems to respond to emerging disease threats like Zika, and is the second largest national funder of WHO. The Department for International Development made a discretionary contribution of £14.5 million to WHO in 2015, alongside the Department of Health meeting the UK’s £15 million commitment to WHO core funding. The UK has also provided political and technical support to strengthening the organisation and its preparedness. As part of the UK effort to strengthen global health security DFID contributed an additional £6.2 million to WHO’s contingency fund for emergencies which can be used for the management of Zika.Affected countries are working closely with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) which serves as the Regional Office of the World Health Organisation. PAHO and governments across the region are issuing information on the emerging Zika infection and are advocating for increased vector control activities. DFID will keep under review its support to countries affected by Zika viral infections and along with other Government Departments we have welcomed the WHO emergency committee statement issued on Monday 1st February. DFID is monitoring the risk posed by Zika through our early warning work, through DFID’s advisers in the region, and by keeping abreast of the evidence.

Developing Countries: Water

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what programmes her Department has in place to facilitate access to wells and water in developing countries.

Mr Nick Hurd: In 2012 the UK Government set a target of reaching 60 million people in the developing world with one or more water, sanitation or hygiene (WASH) interventions by the end of 2015. The Department for International Development (DFID) delivered a range of WASH programmes in 19 countries through its network of country offices. In addition DFID ran 2 regional programmes and 4 centrally managed programmes from DFID HQ.The target was achieved 9 months early in April 2015.More detailed information on individual WASH programmes that contributed to meeting this target is available through the development tracker function https://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/sector/3 on the DFID website.We are currently formulating our new portfolio to deliver on the UK government’s commitment to help a further 60 million people get access to clean water and sanitation by 2020.

Department for Education

Teachers: Northern Ireland

Danny Kinahan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with her Northern Ireland counterpart about the provision of England-based teaching jobs for unemployed teachers in Northern Ireland.

Nick Gibb: Officials at the Department for Education have regular discussions with their Northern Ireland counterparts. The National College of Teaching and Leadership has worked with a range of partners in Northern Ireland to ensure that teaching opportunities in England are widely promoted. These partners include:Irish National Teachers’ OrganisationDepartment for Employment and Learning Employment ServiceDepartment of Education Northern IrelandGeneral Teaching Council Northern IrelandTogether with these partners, the Department has helped prospective teachers in Northern Ireland find vacancies in England through the Get Into Teaching website. The Teaching School Council and Regional School Commissioners also promoted teaching opportunities in England. Schools in the West Midlands, North West and East of England engaged with and benefited from these initiatives.

GCE A-level

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she expects A-Levels in (a) French, (b) German, (c) Spanish, (d) Religious Studies and (e) Geography to be approved by awarding bodies for teaching from September 2016; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have therefore asked its Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey, to write directly to the Honourable Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

Students: Disability

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason statutory guidance Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years (2015) does not apply to higher education institutions.

Edward Timpson: Higher education institutions are not covered by the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years for good reason.The new system of Education Health and Care (EHC) plans has a strong focus on the outcomes sought for children and young people with SEND. The Code of Practice defines the attainment of a place in higher education as a successful outcome.Local authorities are not responsible for the education of young people in higher education. The sector has its own support system in the form of the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). It would not be sensible for these systems to overlap. For example, it would not be reasonable to hold a local authority to account for securing special educational provision for a young people in an independent higher education institution.In the academic year 2013/14, the last year for which full figures are available, DSA totalling £152.7m was provided to 68,500 undergraduate and postgraduate students. The Government also currently provides annual funding to publicly funded institutions, through the Disability element of the Student Opportunity Funding of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) grant, to help them recruit and support disabled students. This funding rose to £20 million for 2015/16, an increase of £5 million on the previous year.The Code of Practice provides guidance on the transition to higher education. It says that good transition planning should include:sharing the EHC plan with the university (with the young person’s consent);ensuring the young person is aware of DSA and has made an early application, so that support is in place when their university course begins; andensuring the continuity of health and care services where these continue to be required by the young person.In addition we are working with those conducting DSA assessments to ensure that they understand EHC plans and how they can assist and inform assessments.As independent and autonomous bodies, higher education institutions are entirely responsible for addressing any issues of discrimination that might come to their attention. The Government provides a legal framework for individuals, which protects their right not to be discriminated against – primarily through the Equality Act 2010. Through the Equality Act, higher education institutions are prohibited by law from discriminating against students with protected characteristics, such as disability.

Special Educational Needs

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if protocols are in place for the sharing of information between officials in her Department and Ofsted on the outcome of Ofsted inspections of provision for children with special educational needs or disabilities in a local area.

Edward Timpson: I can confirm that Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission will publish outcomes from the local area SEND inspections.

Children: Day Care

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made in Beckenham on implementing the Government's proposal for 30 hours' free child care for working parents.

Mr Sam Gyimah: We have made substantial progress towards implementing the offer of 30 hours of free childcare to working parents of three- and four-year-olds. At the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced a significant increase in funding to support the policy, which means that by 2019-20 we will be spending over £1billion extra per year on the free childcare entitlements for two-, three- and four-year-olds.The Childcare Bill, which provides the legal framework for the extended entitlement, has completed its Commons stages and Lords Consideration will take place on 2 February. We have announced that parents will be able to check their eligibility for both the working parents’ childcare offer and Tax-Free Childcare through a joint online system, making it easier for working parents to access Government childcare support.

Academies

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will list in descending order the proportion of schools in each local authority in England which have converted to academies.

Edward Timpson: The information requested is shown in the table below:Proportion of state-funded schools that are academiesAs of 01/01/2016By Local Authority in England Number of state-funded schools 1Number of academies 2% of state-funded schools that are academiesNorth East Lincolnshire614879%Bournemouth413278%Bromley1007171%Darlington402870%Torbay422867%Thurrock533464%Rutland221464%Kingston upon Hull City of955659%Slough482552%Leicestershire28314652%Poole412151%Middlesbrough552851%Blackpool422150%Bexley793949%Nottingham1004949%Wakefield1396748%Swindon813847%Medway1034847%Cornwall27812846%Northamptonshire31214145%Croydon1195244%Bristol City of1405841%Stoke-on-Trent933841%Barnsley903640%Rotherham1184538%Hillingdon983738%Central Bedfordshire1344937%Lincolnshire35612736%Sutton602135%Sheffield1735934%Bedford772634%Oxfordshire2869533%Essex55518233%Redcar and Cleveland581933%Cheshire East1535033%Plymouth963132%Birmingham42013532%Sunderland1093532%Kent58318231%North Lincolnshire812531%Stockton-on-Tees782431%Doncaster1253830%Wiltshire2377130%Southampton742230%Herefordshire992929%Waltham Forest762229%Warwickshire2376829%Portsmouth631829%Dorset1724928%Calderdale1022928%Cambridgeshire2507128%Southend-on-Sea531528%Havering822328%Wolverhampton1052928%Hammersmith and Fulham581628%Windsor and Maidenhead631727%Coventry1193227%Somerset2646926%Manchester1774626%Solihull822126%Kingston upon Thames511325%Peterborough751925%Sandwell1193025%Gloucestershire3037625%Nottinghamshire3388425%Walsall1132825%Westminster571425%Suffolk3257924%Norfolk42010224%Harrow581424%Worcestershire2415824%Devon3638724%Bath and North East Somerset801924%Hartlepool38924%Surrey3899023%Trafford932123%East Sussex1924322%Brent811822%Reading541222%Staffordshire3978822%Milton Keynes1082321%Oldham1042221%Southwark1012121%Hounslow771621%Kensington and Chelsea35720%North Somerset761520%Haringey841619%Luton651218%Buckinghamshire2334318%West Sussex2825218%Barnet1202218%South Gloucestershire1152118%Hertfordshire5198917%Tameside961617%Bradford2063417%Dudley1071716%Derby961516%Blackburn with Darwen721115%Shropshire1532315%Cumbria3164715%Wandsworth811215%Leeds2744015%Halton62915%Wirral1241815%Kirklees1802614%Richmond upon Thames57814%Telford and Wrekin731014%Gateshead841113%Hackney771013%Lambeth851113%Newcastle upon Tyne961213%Cheshire West and Chester1612012%Wigan1291612%Bolton1261512%South Tyneside59712%Isle of Wight51612%Redbridge78912%Wokingham65711%Durham2612710%Northumberland1741810%Salford991010%West Berkshire80810%Newham91910%Knowsley61610%Sefton1021010%Liverpool1651610%York62610%Greenwich83810%Leicester110109%Merton5659%Hampshire530479%Barking and Dagenham5958%East Riding of Yorkshire145128%Warrington8678%Derbyshire408328%Ealing9078%Stockport10688%Enfield9577%North Yorkshire369277%Rochdale8667%Islington6546%St. Helens6846%Bracknell Forest3925%Bury8145%Lancashire608295%Lewisham8645%Brighton and Hove7034%Tower Hamlets9644%North Tyneside7734%Camden6223%City of London100%Isles Of Scilly100%Total21,5165,09624%1. Includes LA maintained schools, academies, free schools, studio schools, university technical colleges, city technology colleges and state-funded special schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision.2. Includes converter academies and sponsored academies.

Teachers: Training

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to ensure that attachment theory is understood by teachers across schools in England to help readiness for learning.

Edward Timpson: Attachment issues can impact on educational outcomes, particularly for looked after children and for those children who have left care through adoption. The attachment of these children may have been adversely affected through difficult experiences in their early years.Every school must have a designated teacher for looked after children who promotes their educational achievement. Every looked after child must also have the support of the local authority’s Virtual School Head. These vulnerable children, including those who have left care, also attract the pupil premium worth £1900 per eligible pupil. Schools may use this funding to purchase training for staff on recognising and responding to attachment related issues.Stephen Munday is leading an independent group to develop a framework of core Initial Teacher Training content to build a better shared understanding of the essential elements of the training. Although we cannot pre-empt what will be included in the framework, the group will be considering a broad range of course content including special educational needs and disabilities and classroom management, amongst other things. Stephen Munday will report to Ministers in the spring of 2016.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to improve children's character and resilience.

Edward Timpson: All schools should develop character traits like self-confidence, motivation and resilience in their students. These traits support academic attainment, are valued by employers, and encourage young people to make a positive contribution to British society.At the Character Symposium in January 2016[1], the Secretary of State for Education outlined her vision for character education. She announced that the Department intends to promote character education through the building and strengthening of our evidence base. We will facilitate this via an online digital platform which will share evidence, innovation, and examples of best practice in character education. We will also promote character education to schools and organisations through a new round of character awards.To support schools in this, we are already investing £5 million in character education. This figure includes £3.5m of grants for 14 projects and £1m to the Education Endowment Foundation to build research the most effective ways that character can be developed.Of course, many schools and organisations are already supporting children to develop their character, through programmes such as National Citizen Service. We will be investing over a billion pounds over the next four years to make NCS a rite of passage and to ensure that 60% of 16 year olds can take part by 2021.School sport can also help children and young people develop positive character traits such as fair play, leadership and resilience. It can teach them how to bounce back from defeat, how to respect others and how to work together in teams to achieve a goal. PE remains a compulsory subject at all four key stages in the new national curriculum which came into force in September 2014.[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/nicky-morgan-opens-character-symposium-at-floreat-school

Special Educational Needs

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will issue a notice to improve to local authorities where Ofsted identify significant concerns over provision for children with special educational needs or disabilities in a local area.

Edward Timpson: The Department continues to monitor progress with implementation of the special educational needs duties set out in the Children and Families Act 2014. Our intention is that a combination of local accountability measures, data and analysis and independent inspection will show how the SEND system is performing, which parts are working well and less well and whether outcomes are improving for children and young people. The Department will consider the findings from the local area inspections as part of our approach to monitoring progress to assess where additional support and challenge may be required.

Special Educational Needs

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of increasing the number of nurture groups to help raise attainment and improve child mental health in schools.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Boxall Profile in ensuring early identification of child behavioural and emotional issues and help track the progress of pupils' social and emotional development.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of nurture groups on a child's confidence, self-esteem and relationship with adults and school attendance and attainment.

Mr Sam Gyimah: To drive improvements across children and young people’s mental health services, an additional £1.4bn funding is being made available over the next 5 years to transform children and young people’s mental health services to deliver more integrated and accessible services.We recognise that schools can play a significant role in promoting good mental health and wellbeing. This is important in its own right and we know that mental health problems can have a significant impact on attendance and attainment and life chances in the longer term. We believe that schools are best placed to decide what approaches will be most suitable for their pupils.The Department is contributing £1.5 million to a joint training pilot to test out single points of contact in schools and specialist mental health services, as well as improving local referral routes for those children and young people who need access to specialist services.Ministers and officials have met the Nurture Group Network and visited schools where nurture groups are in place, who have talked about how the use of the Boxall profile in the nurture group context has helped their pupils. The Network was one of a number of organisations who were involved in producing our blueprint for school-based counselling services, which was published last year and describes the features of good support in a whole-school context. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counselling-in-schools.We have also issued advice on mental health and behaviour which clarifies the responsibility of the school, points to tools that can be used to help them identify pupils that may be experiencing a mental health problem, and outlines what they can do to provide a stable environment that builds good mental health in all pupils. Nurture groups are one of the interventions highlighted. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2We want to get a national picture of the interventions used by schools and what they find to be effective. The department recently issued an Expression of Interest for a large scale survey of schools and colleges which will explore their activity to support their pupils’ mental health and development of character traits. This survey will report with detailed national estimates of schools and colleges’ activity including their offer of targeted support such as nurture groups and use of tools like the Boxall profile. It will also seek qualitative evidence on the activities schools and colleges find effective in improving mental health and developing desirable character traits.

Schools: Inspections

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of short school inspections carried out last term were converted into a full section 5 inspection; and if she will list those inspections.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw. I have asked him to write to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

Ministry of Justice

Prisons: Saudi Arabia

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what prison training his Department has provided to prison services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Andrew Selous: Details are fully documented in the NAO’s report into JSi, available here: https://www.nao.org.uk/report/investigation-into-just-solutions-international/

Solicitors: Voluntary Work

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Attorney General on increasing the number of solicitors participating in pro bono activities.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The UK has an unrivalled concentration of expert and talented legal practitioners who are dedicated to the delivery of pro bono services. The SoS has been clear that those who benefit financially from our legal culture must do much more to help protect access to justice for all. The MoJ has had constructive discussions with the legal sector about how we can best achieve this and we look forward to continuing that dialogue. The subject has been discussed at official level with the Attorney General’s Office and the legal professions.

Insolvency

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons he ended the insolvency exemption from the 2012 Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act on 17 December 2015.

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the findings of the report by Professor Walton, published in December 2015, that the current insolvency litigation regime returns £480 million a year to creditors, including £115 million a year to HM Revenue and Customs.

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the costs and benefits of the current funding regime for insolvency litigation between 26 February 2015 and 17 December 2015.

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he had considered the interim findings of the report of Professor Walton on the insolvency litigation landscapes, published on 10 December 2015, before making the announcement on 17 December 2015 to end the insolvency exemption from the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

Dominic Raab: Since the passage of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) 2012, it has always been the government’s stated intention that the exemption for insolvency cases would be temporary. Commencement of Part 2 of LASPO’s conditional fee (or ‘no win no fee’) arrangement reforms for insolvency, was announced in December and will apply from April this year. The aim of LASPO’s reforms was to control the cost of civil litigation.Ministry of Justice Officials discussed Professor Walton’s report with him, but the Ministry of Justice did not agree with his conclusions. Officials have also met representatives of insolvency practitioners who use no win no fee arrangements to fund these cases, as well as those who fund them in other ways.

Secure Accommodation: Staff

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of staff employed in each secure children's home are qualified speech and language therapists.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of staff employed in each secure training centre are qualified speech and language therapists.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of staff employed in each secure training centre is registered with the Mental Health and Care Professions Council.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of staff employed in each secure training centre are qualified social workers.

Andrew Selous: The information is not held centrally. However, certain roles within Secure Training Centres (STC) must be filled by qualified social workers. Qualification requirements for staff in Secure Children’s Homes (SCH) are set by the Department of Education.All young people undergo a health and education assessment upon arrival into custody, whilst all staff undergo training in child and adolescent development and safeguarding. STC and SCH providers should ensure that they meet the needs of all detained persons including those with Special Education and Needs (SEN) requirements, and that all staff are suitably qualified to support young people and make referrals to other specialist support where this is appropriate.

Young Offender Institutions: Staff

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of staff employed in each young offender institution is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of staff employed in each young offender institution are qualified speech and language therapists.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of staff employed in each young offender institution is registered with the Mental Health and Care Professions Council.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2016 to Question 23060, what proportion of staff employed in each young offender institution are qualified social workers.

Andrew Selous: The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate costs.The Youth Justice Board is responsible for commissioning and oversight of the secure youth estate. The Youth Justice Board funds dedicated social workers at each under-18 Young Offender Institution (YOI). All young people undergo a health and education assessment upon arrival into custody, whilst all staff undergo training in child and adolescent development and safeguarding.Under-18 YOI providers should ensure that they meet the needs of all detained persons including those with Special Education and Needs (SEN) requirements, and that all staff are suitably qualified to support young people and make referrals to other specialist support where this is appropriate.

Northumbria Community Rehabilitation Company

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2016 to Question 21777, if he will publish or summarise the outcome of the operational assurance audit of Northumbria Community Rehabilitation Company completed in June 2015 and any remedial actions required as a result of that audit.

Andrew Selous: Northumbria Community Rehabilitation Company has put in place an action plan to remedy shortcomings identified. We monitor the performance of all Community Rehabilitation Companies closely, to make sure they fulfil their contractual commitments to maintain service delivery, reduce reoffending, protect the public and deliver value for money to the tax payer. Operational assurance audit results are commercially sensitive, so will not be published.

Community Rehabilitation Companies

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2016 to Question 22251, which (a) community rehabilitation companies have been issued with informal remedial action plans and (b) companies contracted to run probation services have failed an audit in each year since 2010; and what remedial action was required in each such case.

Andrew Selous: We hold providers rigorously to account for their performance and take action wherever they are falling short. Following operational assurance audits by the MoJ, seven CRCs have developed action plans. We will continue to monitor CRC performance closely. No CRC has been put on a formal Remedial Plan. Our probation reforms are designed to make sure that almost all offenders receive support on release, including, for the first time, those sentenced to less than 12 months.

Drugs: Decriminalisation

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to provide alternatives to criminalization and incarceration of people with drug-use disorders and to encourage alternatives to imprisonment facilitating the eventual rehabilitation, re-skilling and reintegration of drug users.

Andrew Selous: We are currently trialling ‘Liaison and Diversion’ services. These services place health professionals at police stations and courts to assess suspects for a range of health problems, including drug misuse, and make referrals to treatment and support. Information shared with the criminal justice system can be used to inform decisions, supporting diversion into treatment as part of an alternative to charge or to custody where appropriate.We are also interested in problem-solving courts, such as drug courts, given evidence of success in other jurisdictions. Officials are now working with members of the judiciary to consider how the problem-solving approach might be developed for England and Wales.

Probation: Staff

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what monitoring his Department conducts of staffing levels at all probation services and community rehabilitation companies.

Andrew Selous: Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) are contractually required to maintain a professional and appropriately skilled workforce to deliver the services set out in their contracts. We robustly contract manage each CRC to make sure they fulfil their contractual commitment to maintain service delivery, reduce reoffending, protect the public and deliver value for money for taxpayers. The National Probation Service staffing levels are kept under constant review to make sure public safety is maintained and value for money delivered.

Tribunals: Scotland

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many data protection breaches there have been by HM Courts and Tribunals Service when dealing with non-devolved tribunals in Scotland since April 2013.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Below are the reported data incidents figures of non-devolved tribunals in Scotland since April 2013: April 2013 – March 2014 64 reported incidentsApril 2014 – March 2015 65 reported incidents HMCTS staff are mandated to complete annual information assurance training, which includes actions to take in respect of a data protection breach or data incident.

Employment Tribunals Service: Shipping

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many employment tribunal (ET) cases involved employees and employers from the maritime industry in each year since 2008-09; and what proportion of the total number of ET cases such cases were in each such year.

Mr Shailesh Vara: This information is not held.

Legal Aid Scheme

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what costs in each category of expenditure his Department incurred in relation to the proposed tender of criminal legal aid contracts.

Mr Shailesh Vara: This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

South Yorkshire Community Rehabilitation Company

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will place in the Library the improvement plan developed by South Yorkshire Community Rehabilitation Company in response to the audit conducted by his Department.

Andrew Selous: The action plan developed by South Yorkshire Community Rehabilitation Company in response to the operational assurance audit last year is commercially sensitive.We hold providers rigorously to account for their performance and take action wherever they are falling short. Following an audit by the Ministry of Justice, South Yorkshire CRC has now developed an action plan. We will continue to monitor the CRC’s performance closely.Our probation reforms are designed to make sure almost all offenders receive support on release, including, for the first time, those sentenced to less than 12 months.

Mediation: Family Proceedings

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in how many cases funding has been provided for the first single session of family mediation where one of the participants qualifies for legal aid in the last 12 months.

Mr Shailesh Vara: This Government wants people to resolve disputes away from court wherever possible, including through mediation which can be less stressful and more efficient. Between 1 October 2014 and 30 September 2015, public funding was provided for the first single session of family mediation where only one of the participants was eligible for legal aid in 6,022 cases. This is the latest 12-month period for which figures are available. Public funding became available on this basis during this period, on 3 November 2014. Figures are only available for cases that have completed and for which the bill has been submitted to the Legal Aid Agency by the mediation provider.

Ministry of Justice: Departmental Responsibilities

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to review his Department's priorities in the next six months.

Mike Penning: My Rt Hon friend, the Secretary of State for Justice, has a clear set of priorities for the Ministry of Justice. These priorities are regularly reviewed.

Prisons: Weapons

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many weapons have been confiscated in prisons in each year since 2010; and what the (a) number and (b) proportion of such weapons were firearms.

Andrew Selous: Data on confiscation of weapons of all types for the period requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The table below shows the number of real firearms found in prison over the 5 year period requested. In contrast there were 15 such incidents over the 5 year period from 2006 to 2010. Firearms reported on the Incident Reporting System (IRS)1,2, 2011 to 2015  Firearm description20112012201320142015Real (Functional)321001Real (Non-Functional)400001Total21002  (1) Includes NOMS operated Immigration Removal Centres.(2) Excludes finds of toy guns or home-made replicas and imitation guns.(3) “Functional firearms” were: a Taser mistakenly brought into a prison by police; youths shooting rabbits on prison grounds external to the prison; a CS Gas canister discovered in prisoner property sent in from court; a gun discovered in a bag brought in by a visitor.(4) “Non-functional” firearm was found in a prison building outside the prison walls.

Prisons: Crimes of Violence

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in which prisons the 4,568 assaults on staff took place, set out in the Safety in Custody Summary Statistics, England and Wales, deaths to 12 months ending December 2015, assaults and self-harm to 12 months ending September 2015, published in January 2016.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in which prisons the 595 serious assaults on staff took place, set out in the Safety in Custody Summary Statistics, England and Wales, deaths to 12 months ending December 2015, assaults and self-harm to 12 months ending September 2015, published in January 2016.

Andrew Selous: Statistics for assaults on staff by prison are published on an annual basis by calendar year in the Safety in Custody statistics bulletin annual assaults tables (see table 3.15 at the link below). https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/495430/safety-in-custody-assaults-dec-2014.xls. Figures for 2015 are due for publication in April 2016.Statistics for serious assaults on staff by prison are due for release on in April 2016 as part of the Safety in Custody statistics bulletin annual assaults tables. This publication will include breakdowns of serious assaults on staff by prison in each calendar year.

Prime Minister

Cabinet: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Prime Minister, when the Cabinet will next hold a meeting in Wales.

Mr David Cameron: Details of Cabinet meetings outside London will be announced in due course.

Ministry of Defence

Islamic State: Military Intervention

Mr Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the comments made by a spokesperson of his Department made in an article published in the Herald newspaper on 10 January 2016, and pursuant to his oral contribution of 18 January 2016, Official Report, column 1118, if his Department will retrospectively re-examine reports of civilian casualties received from September 2014 to January 2016 to see whether any credible reports of potential civilian casualties from UK strikes were overlooked.

Penny Mordaunt: There has been no change in Ministry of Defence (MOD) policy with regard to considering external reports when making an assessment of possible civilian casualties resulting from air strikes.The MOD takes allegations of civilian casualties very seriously and we do an assessment after every British strike of the damage that has been caused, and check very carefully whether there are likely to have been civilian casualties. As has always been the case, we continue to consider all available credible evidence to support such assessments.

Immigration: Cyprus

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made in dealing with the migrants who arrived (a) in October 1998 and (b) on 21 October 2015 in the RAF Dhekelia and RAF Akrotiri Soverign Base Areas in Cyprus.

Penny Mordaunt: The remaining migrants, both recognised refugees and failed asylum seekers, from those who arrived in the Soveriegn Base Areas (SBA) in 1998, are currently living in former Service Family accommodation close to the British Forces Garrison in Dhekelia. For those whose claims for asylum have not been accepted and who are unable to return to their country of origin, we continue efforts to identify a third country willing to accept them.The majority of those migrants who arrived in the SBA on 21 October 2015 have transferred into the Republic of Cyprus asylum system and are housed in a facility in the Republic. Of those who remain in the Transit Facility in Dhekelia, all have either claimed asylum or are seeking voluntarily to return to their point of origin. Their asylum claims are being considered by the Sovereign Base Area Administration, with assistance from Republic of Cyprus immigration officials.

Islamic State: Military Intervention

Mr Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his letter of 16 January 2016 to Chris Woods, leader of Airwars, whether British aircraft participated in any of the eight incidents cited by Mr Woods in his letter of 8 January 2016.

Michael Fallon: RAF aircraft were not involved in strikes in seven of the incidents cited by Mr Woods. The eighth incident was impossible to locate from the detail given in the letter: all information from the RAF air strike conducted on that particular day has been reviewed and there was no indication of any civilian casualties resulting from the strike.

HMS Ocean: Deployment

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times HMS Ocean has been deployed in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Penny Mordaunt: HMS OCEAN deployed away from UK waters twice in 2015. In July she participated in Exercise BALTOPS, a major Allied naval exercise in the Baltic Sea, and between September and December she was deployed on COUGAR 15, the annual deployment of the UK's high readiness maritime Joint Expeditionary Force.

AWE: Staff

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) permanent staff, (b) temporary staff and (c) contractors are employed at the Atomic Weapons Establishment; and how many such staff he expects to be employed at that Establishment in each of the next three years.

Michael Fallon: There are 4,920 permanent staff and 890 contractors employed at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE). These figures represent full time equivalent staff, rounded to the nearest ten.Contractors working at AWE but employed by sub-contractor companies are not included as this information is not held centrally.Over the next three years, staffing levels will depend on programme demand.

AWE: Staff

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) AWE personnel and (b) contractors are working on legacy decommissioning projects at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

Mr Philip Dunne: There are 209 contractors and 78 AWE personnel working on decommissioning projects, including demolition, at the Atomic Weapons Establishment

Warships: Crew

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total crew complement by rank and specialisation was of each of the Royal Navy's (a) Type 45 Destroyers and (b) Type 23 Frigates on their most recent deployment.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the maximum crew complement is of each of the Royal Navy's (a) Type 45 Destroyers and (b) Type 23 Frigates.

Penny Mordaunt: Ships' and submarines' complements are not fixed; they vary, even across a Class, due to equipment fits and in response to specific tasking. The table below shows the average number of liability positions for each ship when in their normal operating role. Complements of Royal Navy Type 45 destroyers and Type 23 frigates by branch and rank   Type 45 DestroyersType 23 Frigates Number of PositionsWarfare and Exec Department  Commander11Lieutenant Commander33Lieutenant85Warrant Officer11Chief Petty Officer33Petty Officer128Leading Hand2119Able Rate3228   Engineering Department  Lieutenant Commander22Lieutenant32Warrant Officer32Chief Petty Officer97Petty Officer1515Leading Hand1717Able Rate3331   Logistics Department  Lieutenant Commander11Lieutenant11Chief Petty Officer11Petty Officer33Leading Hand1010Able Rate1312   Medical Department  Petty Officer10Leading Hand01Able Rate11   TOTAL194174

RAF Lossiemouth: Maritime Patrol Aircraft

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many nations have Maritime Patrol Aircraft based at RAF Lossiemouth; how many Maritime Patrol Aircraft are based at RAF Lossiemouth; and which nations have had Maritime Patrol Aircraft based at RAF Lossiemouth at any point in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Penny Mordaunt: There are no Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) permanently based at RAF Lossiemouth. However, following the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review the Government announced that the United Kingdom would purchase a fleet of nine Boeing P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft which will be based at RAF Lossiemouth.Over the course of 2015 MPA from the United States, Canada, France and Germany were temporarily deployed to RAF Lossiemouth. We do not discuss the detail of such maritime operations as this would, or would likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

South China Sea: Navigation

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2016 to Question 23285, by what mechanisms the UK strongly asserts its right, and supports that of all States, to exercise Freedom of Navigation in accordance with the International Rules Based System in the South China Sea.

Penny Mordaunt: Royal Navy warships exercise their rights of freedom of navigation in the South China Sea pursuant to the United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). In addition, aircraft may exercise their right of overflight of the High Seas by virtue of Article 87(1)(b) of UNCLOS. By virtue of their free passage through international water and airspace Royal Navy vessels and RAF aircraft exercise and assert this right whenever transiting through international waters and airspace.

Russia: NATO

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with NATO on monitoring Russian manoeuvres along its borders with NATO member states.

Mr Julian Brazier: NATO constantly monitors and assesses the threats it faces across its borders. The Readiness Action Plan, comprising assurance and adaptation measures, is designed to strengthen NATO's collective defence posture and crisis management capability and help deter Russia from hostile activity. The UK has recently renewed its call for intelligence to be shared amongst NATO members to deliver situational awareness. We are also encouraging NATO to enhance its capability for monitoring, assessing the effects of, and responding to threatening behaviour. NATO is focussing on being 'adaptable by design' so the Alliance is ready to face any new and emerging threats from wherever they come.

NATO

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions his Department has had with NATO on progress with NATO's Force Integration Units.

Mr Julian Brazier: The Ministry of Defence is fully involved in the development of NATO's Force Integration Units (NFIU) and we will contribute personnel to the NFIUs in the Baltic States, Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania.

NATO

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps his Department has taken in conjunction with NATO to ensure flexibility in NATO's capacity to respond to hostile actions.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with NATO on the emergency provision of troops to (a) Poland and (b) the Balkan states.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with NATO on improvements to the road network in European NATO member states to permit more effective movement of troops and logistic support.

Mr Julian Brazier: The UK was one of the driving forces behind NATO's Readiness Action Plan (RAP), agreed at the Wales Summit, which includes tripling the strength of the NATO Response Force (NRF); the creation of a Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) that is able to deploy at very short notice; and enhancing NATO's Standing Naval Forces.The UK is fully involved with NATO work to improve the movement of troops and logistic support to the enhanced NRF and VJTF although improvements to and development of road networks remain the responsibility of each member nation.NATO Allies regularly discuss the progress of the RAP and the capabilities and deployability of our forces; we will do so again at the NATO Defence Ministerial meeting this month.The UK will contribute to the VJTF in every year between now and 2021 including: a 1,000 strong battle group for the Spanish-led Land VJTF in 2016; we will act as the Land VJTF lead nation in 2017, with 3,000 UK personnel; and in 2020 we will provide a 1,000 battle group to the Polish-led VJTF

Ministry of Defence: Data Protection

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2016 to Question 23346, how many of the breaches referred to related to documents categorised before April 2014 as (a) top secret, (b) secret, (c) confidential, (d) restricted, (e) protected and (f) unclassified; and how many such breaches related to documents categorised after April 2014 as (i) top secret, (ii) secret and (iii) official-sensitive or official.

Mark Lancaster: We do not hold information centrally about when the documents were originally classified. However, the classification of the information at the time the security breaches occurred is listed in the table below: Document Classification20142015Top Secret20Secret1518Confidential89Restricted3713Protected00Unclassified10Official Sensitive1843Official00Unknown12Total8285 These figures include all incidents involving documents in hard copy or stored on magnetic media i.e. CD's. They include incidents involving the sending of documents over a transmission media not approved for the classification of the document.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with the United States Department of Defense about safety of the F-35 ejection system.

Mr Philip Dunne: The UK is in daily dialogue with the United States Department of Defense on the safety of the F-35 Lightning II, of which the ejection system is a part.

Armed Forces: Females

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 4.57 of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, in which month of 2016 his Department plans to (a) complete its study of the physiological impacts of combat roles in the armed forces on women and (b) announce a final decision on women undertaking the full range of combat roles.

Penny Mordaunt: A final decision is expected to be made before the summer recess. The physiological research programme will inform this decision and its report will be published shortly after.

Russia: NATO

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions his Department has had with NATO on tackling negative reporting on NATO and its member states from Russian media outlets.

Mr Julian Brazier: The UK works closely with NATO Allies to ensure there is close alignment in messaging and communications that demonstrates our joined up and credible alternative narrative to Russian misinformation. NATO communicates with a range of media outlets in the region to provide a balanced view of NATO aims and activities. However in Russia, state-controlled media outlets dominate the information environment and therefore crowd out independent voices.

Balkans: NATO

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with (a) NATO and (b) the Balkan states on increasing the number of NATO troops and amount of materiel in those states.

Mr Julian Brazier: The UK is fully engaged with NATO's regular reviews of its distribution of troops and materiel to ensure the Alliance is adaptable to the changing security situation. The NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR) - around 4,600 personnel - is reviewed regularly, with SHAPE currently reporting a positive security and political situation. NATO Allies regularly train in the Western Balkans region, and in 2016 the UK will contribute troops to: Exercise CARPATHIAN EXPRESS and Exercise STEADFAST COBALT in Romania; Exercise STEADFAST LEV in Bulgaria; Exercise IMMEDIATE RESPONSE in Slovenia; and Exercise JOINT EFFORT in Albania.

Syria: Military Intervention

Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many missions have been flown by UK military forces in Syria to provide direct humanitarian aid to civilians; where those missions took place; what aid was supplied; and what the cost was of those missions.

Penny Mordaunt: UK military forces have not flown any missions to provide humanitarian aid in Syria. The UN has not requested the use of air drops, which are not currently the best way of getting help to those in need.The UN, Red Cross and Syrian Arab Red Crescent have successfully delivered aid by road to Madaya, Foah and Kefraya. The UN and non-governmental organisation partners are best placed to deliver humanitarian aid and have the mandate, expertise and capacity to assess needs and deliver an appropriate, timely response.

Armed Forces: Conditions of Employment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the (a) Army Reserve, (b) Royal Auxiliary Air Force and (c) Royal Navy Reserve have signed terms and conditions of service under the New Employment Model.

Mr Julian Brazier: The terms and conditions (TACOS) of all UK Armed Forces personnel are subject to a rolling programme of change under the New Employment Model (NEM), which is modernising Pay and Allowances; Accommodation; Training and Education; and Career Structures and Career Management. Where appropriate this will include Reserves. Personnel are not required to sign new TACOS in order to benefit from relevant changes, which will continue to be rolled out until 2020.

Poland: Russia

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with the Polish government on the allocation of UK or NATO forces to Poland to counter any threats to that country from Russia.

Mr Julian Brazier: My right hon. Friends the Defence Secretary and the Foreign Secretary met with their Polish counterparts in Edinburgh in January 2016 to discuss a range of options for countering threats in the region. We are working closely with Poland to ensure that the Warsaw Summit in July further strengthens NATO against current threats and adapts it to combat future ones. We also promote more effective defence cooperation in the region with our partners in the Northern Group: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Sweden). The UK already makes a substantial contribution to Assurance Measures in Poland, and will provide 1,000 personnel to Exercise ANAKONDA in June 2016.

Veterans: Iraq

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what protections exist for British veterans of the Iraq War who are subject to prosecutions for alleged crimes committed while undertaking their service.

Penny Mordaunt: The Government has consistently maintained that the vast majority of Service personnel deployed on operations overseas act in accordance with the law and their training. However, there remains a legal duty to investigate credible allegations of criminal offences, and to prosecute where appropriate. The Director of Service Prosecutions applies the same test as his civilian counterpart, and Courts Martial, like civilian courts, will convict only where the case is proved beyond reasonable doubt. The Iraq Historic Allegations Team has referred two cases to the Director of Service Prosecutions to date; in both cases he has declined to prosecute.Police investigations and other proceedings can impose a strain on the Service personnel and veterans affected, and we take very seriously our duty of care to them. Anyone who is interviewed as a suspect is entitled to free legal advice; this continues in the event that the case proceeds to prosecution. We also seek to provide pastoral support to Service personnel and veterans who are under investigation, or who are called upon to give evidence to inquests and inquiries. The Department funds independent legal advice wherever necessary in such cases.

Social Services: Veterans

Jo Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether Veterans Welfare Service staff are permitted to represent ex-servicemen and women at tribunal hearings to contest War Pension Scheme decisions made by Veterans UK.

Mark Lancaster: Veterans Welfare Service staff are not permitted to act as representatives for veterans engaged in Pensions Appeal Tribunal hearings. They would, however, provide advice about the range of organisations that would be able to act as representatives, or explain how they could request someone of their own choosing.

Military Bases: Death

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how his Department responds to and investigates the death of non-combatant employees on military bases.

Mark Lancaster: Any incident involving a death at a Ministry of Defence establishment in the UK would be immediately reported to the local police force who will conduct the appropriate investigation.

RAF Lossiemouth: Maritime Patrol Aircraft

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) UK and (b) other maritime patrol aircraft are currently based at RAF Lossiemouth; and how much longer he anticipates this will be the case.

Penny Mordaunt: There are no Maritime Patrol Aircraft currently based at RAF Lossiemouth.I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Defence Procurement (Philip Dunne) to question 17832 from the hon. Member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle) on 3 December 2015.



Military Aircraft
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Maritime Patrol Aircraft

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) range and (b) maximum flying time of the Boeing P-8A Maritime Patrol Aircraft is.

Mr Philip Dunne: Range and endurance will vary significantly depending upon the profile of the mission being flown, however the P-8A Poseidon's range and endurance may be characterised as 4,000 plus nautical miles and over eight hours of endurance.

Trident Submarines: Finance

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the contingency fund for the new generation of Successor Trident submarines has been calculated in compliance with HM Treasury Green Book guidance.

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that calculation of cost estimates for the new generation of Successor Trident submarines has taken into account optimism bias in compliance with the HM Treasury Green Book and supplementary guidance.

Mr Philip Dunne: Successor cost estimates take into account optimism bias in a way consistent with Green Book guidance. As announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, the level of contingency represents around 35% of the submarine cost to completion. This is a prudent estimate based on past experience of large, complex projects, such as the 2012 Olympics. The cost estimates have been subjected to, and will continue to be the exposed to, rigorous cross-Government scrutiny.

Islamic State: Military Intervention

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the number of casualties that have resulted from the UK's use of (a) Brimstone missiles, (b) Hellfire missiles and (c) Paveway IV guided bombs on the most recent occasions on which those weapons were deployed against targets in (i) Iraq and (ii) Syria.

Penny Mordaunt: The Ministry of Defence takes any allegations of civilian casualties very seriously. We do an assessment after every British strike of the damage that has been caused, and check very carefully whether there are likely to have been civilian casualties. As has always been the case, we consider all available credible evidence to support such assessments.There is no such evidence to date that RAF airstrikes have caused any civilian casualties.

Iraq Historic Allegations Team

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the government has initiated legal action against any law firms for abuse of the Iraq Historic Allegations Team inquiry.

Penny Mordaunt: The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has been conducting a wide-ranging investigation into two firms - Leigh Day & Co, and Public Interest Lawyers - as a result of concerns about their conduct in the Al-Sweady Inquiry and associated litigation. Among other things, it is investigating how these firms obtain instructions from claimants in Iraq - a matter that is directly relevant to the unprecedented number of allegations with which the Iraq Historic Allegations Team is contending.The Government welcomes the SRA's decision to refer Leigh Day & Co to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, and awaits its decision with regard to Public Interest Lawyers. We will decide what further action may be appropriate in the light of the results of this process.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Burnley

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Burnley who are in receipt of employment and support allowance and incapacity benefits are also in receipt of housing benefit.

Priti Patel: The information requested is not readily available, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Supported Housing: Local Housing Allowance

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate the number of people who will no longer be able to live in supported accommodation as a result of the application of the cap on local housing allowance for people in such accommodation.

Justin Tomlinson: The information requested is not available.

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many venues where assessments for personal independence payments or employment and support allowance are carried out do not have (a) disabled parking facilities, (b) disabled access toilets, (c) a distance between the car park and the venue of 50 metres or less, (d) a ramp in addition to stairs to the entrance, where there are stairs; and for what reason it is not his Department's policy that such facilities must be provided at assessment centres.

Justin Tomlinson: The information you have requested is not readily available, and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. All our sites fully comply with current legislation: Building Regulations, the Disability Discrimination Act and the Equalities Act 2010.

Employment and Support Allowance

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2016 to Question 23428, whether the prognosis statements issued after assessments for employment and support allowance are an indication of an assessment of the likelihood of improvement in the claimant's medical condition.

Priti Patel: Section 3.10 of the Revised WCA Handbook for healthcare professionals states that prognosis advice "refers to the time frame for when the claimant could be considered fit for work or fit for work-related activity."https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-capability-assessment-handbook-for-healthcare-professionals

Employment and Support Allowance: Parkinson's Disease

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria are used by healthcare professionals conducting employment and support allowance assessments to determine whether people with Parkinson's disease will be able to return to work within three, six, 12 or 18 months or two years; and how many employment and support allowance claimants with Parkinson's disease have had their health improve such that they are able to return to work.

Priti Patel: Each case is considered separately and advice based on individual circumstances. Guidance for health professionals can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-capability-assessment-handbook-for-healthcare-professionals Because we run repeat assessments, which are important to ensure people are getting the right support, we can assess changes to claimants health conditions.  Volume of caseloads in thousands Outcomes of claims where repeat functional assessment has been completed Entitled to Employment and Support Allowance:Fit for WorkAny outcome Work Related Activity GroupSupport GroupEither groupAll501.3666.91168.2315.91484.0Other Medical Condition500.8665.81166.6315.81482.4Parkinson’s Disease0.51.11.60.11.7

Universal Credit: Council Tax Reduction Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer 27 January 2016 to Question 23759, whether there is scope for the Work Coach to pass on details of the claimant's universal credit application to their local authority in order to begin automatically the application for council tax reduction.

Priti Patel: A process to automate the sharing of data between Universal Credit and Local Authorities to support applications to Local Council Tax Reduction Schemes will be implemented in the next month.There are no plans to automate applications for Council Tax Reduction through Universal Credit. This must be done separately by the claimant with the Local Authority.

Government Departments: Families

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department has prepared for government departments on implementing the Family Test.

Priti Patel: In October 2014, the Department for Work and Pensions published guidance for Government officials on how the Test should be applied when formulating policy. Produced in collaboration with third sector partners from the Relationship Alliance, the guidance outlines the basis for the Family Test and provides policy officials with information on how the Test can be applied.

Jobcentre Plus: Staff

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Jobcentre Plus advisers were employed in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014 and (f) 2015.

Priti Patel: The information requested is shown in the table below.  YearNumber of Advisers Employed by Jobcentre Plus2010/1111,9782011/1212,0182012/1313,2442013/1412,9782014/1511,685

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to require GP surgeries to provide his Department with details of all the Med 3 fit notes they issue in respect of people receiving disability benefits.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department will receive anonymised and aggregated GP practice level statistics on Med 3 forms or ‘fit notes’.

Housing Benefit: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has, when removing housing benefit entitlement from young people, to protect the entitlement of those who are (a) leaving care, (b) pregnant, or (c) have dependent children.

Justin Tomlinson: Removal of automatic housing support for 18 – 21 year olds, announced in the Summer Budget 2015, will be introduced in April 2017. The Department is liaising with a range of key stakeholders as we develop the detail of the policy, and once this work is complete we will bring forward detailed proposals.

Universal Credit: Telephone Services

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether unsuccessful universal credit applicants have access to a telephone helpline to allow them to query the decision not to allow them that benefit.

Priti Patel: The Universal Credit helpline (link enclosed) is available for all enquiries about Universal Credit, including advice for those whose claims have been unsuccessful.https://www.gov.uk/contact-jobcentre-plus

Personal Independence Payment: Internet

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 22 July 2014 to Question 205815, what progress he has made on providing a secure and accessible on-line Personal Independence Payment claim form; and if he will make a statement.

Justin Tomlinson: We are developing the streamlined PIP digital claim process which brings the current PIP telephony claim and paper form together.We are working closely with the Cabinet Office to ensure this meets the government standards for digital services which focus on the needs of users. We have user tested a number of different design approaches and based on feedback are ensuring that the claim process is tailored to individual needs and moves away from ‘one size fits all’.The digital claim process continues to be improved and tested with a wide range of users and disability organisations for implementation in 2016. It will be available to everyone once the online claim process has been fully tested.

Housing Benefit: Young People

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which categories of young people will be exempt from the new restrictions to housing benefit eligibility.

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he will publish draft regulations on housing benefit for 18-21 year olds.

Justin Tomlinson: Removal of automatic housing support for 18 – 21 year olds, announced in the Summer Budget 2015, will be introduced in April 2017. The Department is liaising with a range of key stakeholders as we develop the detail of the policy and once this work is complete we will bring forward detailed proposals.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time to wait is for a reconsideration of a decision by (a) his Department and (b) a tribunal hearing in (i) Brighton and Hove and (ii) the UK in the latest period for which figures are available.

Justin Tomlinson: The only published statistics in relation to reconsideration clearance times in the UK are in the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mandatory-reconsiderations-of-dwp-benefit-decisions-data-to-october-2014 Information is not available in relation to Brighton and Hove. The latest information in relation to clearance times for appeals in the UK is in the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2015 - see Table 4.3 Information for Brighton and Hove is as follows: April- September 2015Brighton20 wksUK18 wksSource: SSCS Reports September 2016

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animal Products: Imports

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to prohibit the importation of trophies secured from the killing of (a) lions, (b) elephants and (c) other mammals in (i) Tanzania, (ii) Zimbabwe and (iii) other African countries.

Rory Stewart: The international rules for the import and export of hunting trophies are established under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). A hunting trophy of an endangered species can only be exported if the exporting country is satisfied that the hunt was both legal and sustainable. CITES controls are implemented at an EU-wide level and the UK works with other EU Member States to agree a collective approach. In light of growing concerns about the sustainability of the hunting of some species, the EU has introduced stricter controls on the import of hunting trophies of six species, including lions and African elephants. These require that both the exporting and importing country must be satisfied that the animal was hunted sustainably. As a result the import of hunting trophies of certain species from certain countries is currently prohibited by the EU, including lion trophies from Cameroon and Mozambique and elephant trophies from Tanzania. Imports of lion and elephant trophies from Zimbabwe are currently allowed into the EU as they are considered to be sustainable. The import of lion trophies from Tanzania is under consideration by the Scientific Review Group, which brings together the Scientific Authorities of EU Member States to provide advice on CITES matters and which is expected to decide at its next meeting whether the importation of lion trophies from Tanzania should be prohibited. A full list of EU CITES trade suspensions can be found at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32015R0736 I recognise that there are real concerns about the impact of trophy hunting on lion conservation. As I announced in Parliament on 24 November 2015, the Government will ban lion trophy imports within the next two years unless there are improvements in the way hunting takes place in certain countries, judged against strict criteria. We will work with our European and international partners, and experts in the field, to reach a common approach to this issue.

Rivers: Dredging

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what capital dredging programmes are in place for the five principal river systems in the North East of England between from the River Tees to the River Tweed.

Rory Stewart: The Environment Agency’s dredging work is funded through its Revenue Programme and has work planned for the financial period 2016/17 in the wider Rivers Wansbeck and Blyth, Wear, Tees and Tyne catchments. This work will include the removal of localised silts and gravels from maintained structures and channels.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Public Expenditure

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department spent (a) in real terms and (b) as a share of departmental spending on (i) temporary agency staff, (ii) consultants, (iii) non-payroll staff, (iv) administration and (v) marketing and advertising in each year since 2010-11.

George Eustice: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Bristol East, Kerry McCarthy, on 16 November 2015, PQ UIN15387. The Department’s expenditure is audited and published each year. Annual reports and accounts for each of the last five years are available here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-report-and-accounts-2010-11 www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-report-and-accounts-2011-to-2012--6 www.gov.uk/government/publications/defra-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-to-2013 www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-to-2014 www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015

China: Zimbabwe

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with the Chinese government on the sale of wildlife from Zimbabwe.

Rory Stewart: The UK is working in close cooperation with China on the illegal wildlife trade. In the UK-China Joint Statement on Building a Global Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the 21st Century, issued on 22nd October on the occasion of the State Visit of President Xi Jinping, the UK and China recognised the importance and urgency of combating the illegal wildlife trade, and committed to take active measures to tackle this global challenge. We warmly welcome the recent announcement by China that it intends, in due course, to close its legal domestic market for ivory, and will continue to work with China to encourage this to happen as soon as feasible. Through our Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, we are also supporting projects which address the rising demand for illegal wildlife trade products in China. Defra has had no discussions with China over the sale of wildlife from Zimbabwe.

China: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive on steps to increase exports of food from Northern Ireland to China.

George Eustice: There has been very close collaboration at ministerial and official level to increase food exports to China. On her recent visit the Secretary of State highlighted the Northern Ireland priorities of securing approval for pork plants, finalising access for pig trotters and progressing negotiations for poultry meat. Supporting this extension of access, officials work closely with colleagues from Invest Northern Ireland to ensure complementary export promotional work in China.

Productivity: Rural Areas

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the rural productivity plan published by her Department in August 2015, when she will publish the calls for evidence on reviewing the planning and regulatory constraints facing rural businesses and the measures that can be taken to address them.

Rory Stewart: The Rural Planning Review Call for Evidence will be published jointly by Defra and the Department for Communities and Local Government shortly.

Floods: Insurance

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to assist businesses in areas which are prone to flooding to obtain flood insurance.

Rory Stewart: We are currently not aware of any evidence suggesting that there is a systemic problem with the availability of commercial flood insurance and we have recently published a report that considers the availability of flood insurance for small businesses in areas of high flood risk. The report is available at: http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=None&ProjectID=19227&FromSearch=Y&Status=3&Publisher=1&SearchText=FD2688&SortString=ProjectCode&SortOrder=Asc&Paging=10#Description However, we recognise the difficult challenges that some small businesses could face in areas of high flood risk. We have therefore committed to work with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and other stakeholders to monitor the insurance market for small businesses. We are keen to work across Government, and with a range of business interests, to better understand the nature and extent of any problem that might exist. The ABI have assured us that the insurance industry will continue to provide insurance to small businesses on a competitive basis.

Flood Control: Per Capita Costs

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2016 to Question 21375, what information her Department holds on the population estimates for each of the Environment Agency regions.

Rory Stewart: Population figures are sourced from the Office for National Statistics from the 2011 Census for England and Wales.

Bluetongue Disease

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will discuss with the European Commission the need for co-operation throughout the EU on tackling the spread of bluetongue disease.

George Eustice: Discussions are continuing with EU Member States and the European Commission on tackling the spread of Bluetongue disease, including seeking expert opinion from the European Food Safety Agency on the most appropriate control strategy. Further information on the current control strategy for this disease can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bluetongue-gb-disease-control-strategy and https://www.dardni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/dard/bluetongue-control-strategy.pdf

Air Pollution

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues on distributing UK fines for air quality breaches to individual local authorities or combined authorities.

Rory Stewart: The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ministerial colleagues within Defra and across Whitehall on a range of issues, including on air quality. The air quality plan for nitrogen dioxide we published on 17 December last year sets out the steps we are taking to reduce pollutant levels, including working in partnership with Local Authorities, to avoid any prospect of fines.

Common Fisheries Policy

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, within what timescale she expects the Common Fisheries Policy objectives to be met.

George Eustice: On the Common Fisheries Policy’s principal objectives with deadlines, the UK is committed to implementing the landing obligation on all quota species by 2019, and to be fishing all stocks at Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) by 2020 at the latest.

Home Office

Visas: Catering

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for Tier 2 visas were made by people holding job offers to become chefs in each year since such visas were introduced; and how many such applications were successful.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the effect of the Tier 2 visa scheme's minimum salary threshold on the ability of curry restaurants to recruit chefs from abroad.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received on lowering the Tier 2 visa scheme's minimum salary threshold for chefs.

James Brokenshire: Acquiring this information on visa applications from chefs would involve examining each individual case record held by UK Visas & Immigration for the Tier 2 category. To do so would incur a disproportionate cost.The Home Office regularly receives representations to lower the criteria (including the salary requirement) for sponsoring chefs under Tier 2, the skilled worker route. Tier 2 is, however, reserved for graduate level occupations. We continue to welcome the very top chefs who promote innovative and authentic cuisine here in the UK — and these types of skilled chefs are on the shortage occupation list. The salary threshold applied to chefs was based on expert advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee.We have been clear, however, that the restaurant industry needs to move away from an unsustainable reliance on migrant workers. We want to nurture more home-grown talent and encourage young people in this country who want to pursue a skilled career. This means the restaurant sector offering training to attract and recruit resident workers to meet their staffing needs.The industry is starting to make progress in this area, recruiting and training more chefs in the UK, and this needs to continue.

Asylum: North East

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether contractors have housed asylum seekers in properties with doors that are all uniform or nearly uniform in colour in regions other than the North East.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure that asylum seekers are not housed in properties that make their status as asylum seekers easily identifiable.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when (a) her Department and (b) the contractor G4S became aware of concerns that asylum seekers were being housed in properties with doors that are all uniform or nearly uniform in colour.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects the inquiry announced by her Department on 20 January 2016 into the housing of asylum seekers in the north-east of England to report its findings.

James Brokenshire: Home Office officials are working closely with our housing providers to ensure that asylum seeker accommodation is not easily identifiable. I am not aware of a uniform door colour being the practice in any other region. My officials have also spoken to our housing providers to tell them that such a practice is not acceptable.I was first made aware of this issue when The Times contacted the Home Office in mid-January. G4S has investigated correspondence and discussions on the issue of external door colour in the North East and has confirmed that it was raised in 2012 by a Middlesbrough local councillor and was considered by the G4S audit and assurance team, no complaints from asylum seekers relating to this matter were found and a response was issued.As I said to the House on 20 January, I instructed officials to look into this issue as a matter of urgency and I expect that the audit will be concluded on the Home Office side very shortly.

Ferries: Security

Dr Tania Mathias: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase border security at ferry ports.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 26 January 2016



This Government has taken a number of steps to bolster the security of the border across different modes of transport, including ferry travel.Border Force carries out 100 percent checks of all passengers and drivers arriving at all ferry ports against police, security and immigration watchlists. It works closely with the police and other law enforcement organisations to deliver effective and intelligence-led responses to a range of security threats. Officers use hi-tech equipment and an array of search techniques to combat immigration crime and detect banned and restricted goods - including drugs, firearms and tobacco – that smugglers attempt to bring into the country. Border Force has started to roll out its Advanced Freight Targeting Capability to ferry traffic. This will equip Border Force’s intelligence to target suspicious freight consignments arriving into the UK via ferries in a more effective and efficient fashion.In 2015, Border Force connected to the European watch list system, SIS II. As a result of this step, Border Force has been able to access data pertaining to thousands of European Arrest Warrants, thus allowing more fugitives to be detained and arrested when they arrive at ferry ports and points of arrival in the UK.Exit Check data on those leaving the UK has been collected from passengers on scheduled commercial international air, sea and rail routes from 8 April 2015 and this is already providing the police and security services with more information on the movements of known or suspected criminals, supporting the wider work already taking place across government and law enforcement.

Asylum

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 22948, whether her Department has recorded all EU countries other than Greece as complying with the Dublin Convention.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 27 January 2016



The Dublin Convention no longer governs the determination of responsibility for examining an asylum claim: it was replaced by the EU “Dublin II” Regulation in 2003 for all EU Member States apart from Denmark, which implemented the Dublin Regulation in 2006. An updated “Dublin III” Regulation has applied since 2014.The European Commission is the body responsible for overseeing the correct implementation of EU Regulations. All EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein use the Regulation to make requests to take responsibility for asylum applicants.As noted in the Answer of 21 January to Question 22948 it is not possible to return asylum applicants to Greece. The Government is satisfied that it remains lawful to transfer to and from all other countries bound by the Regulation asylum applicants who qualify under its provisions.

Sexual Offences: Tees Valley

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle the increase in sexual offences on Teesside.

Karen Bradley: Holding answer received on 27 January 2016



Rape and sexual violence are devastating crimes and the Government has made protecting women and girls from violence and supporting victims and survivors of sexual violence a key priority. We want victims to have the confidence to report these crimes, knowing they will get the support they need and that everything will be done to bring offenders to justice.These are under-reported crimes, and the Office for National Statistics report that recent increases in police recorded crime are likely due to improved recording by the police and an increase in the willingness of victims to come forward and report to the police. The number of prosecutions and convictions for sexual offences are at their highest ever levels.The Government continues to support improvements to the criminal justice system’s response to victims of sexual violence. We have supported the publication of data on rape for every police force in the country as a basis for improving recording and investigations of rape and ensure that guidance on investigating and prosecuting rape is implemented in every police force area. The Rape Action Plan, led by the Crown Prosecution Service and the police, is helping to ensure that every report of rape is treated seriously and every victim is given the help they deserve.

Extradition: Bangladesh

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been extradited from Bangladesh to the UK in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire: Between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2015 the UK has extradited two people from Bangladesh. These extraditions occurred in 2010 and in 2011.

Extradition: India

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been extradited from India to the UK in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire: Between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2015, the UK has extradited one person from India. This extradition took place in 2013.

Visas: China

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made on the effect of the visa refund fee scheme on the number of Chinese people visiting the UK.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 01 February 2016



The Home Office has made no assessment of the effect of the visa refund fee scheme because it is operated by Visit Britain on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Right of Abode: Veterans

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to grant right of abode in this country to former British-Hong Kong servicemen.

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the Prime Minister will issue a response to (a) Early Day Motion 722, Right of abode for former British-Hong Kong servicemen and (b) petitions on this subject presented at 10 Downing Street on 5 November 2014.

James Brokenshire: I have agreed to undertake a thorough assessment of the request that this group are offered right of abode in the United Kingdom, based on their employment in Hong Kong. This is under consideration.

Home Office: Families

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued to support the implementation of the Family Test.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has incorporated the Family Test into the impact assessment process, which directs officials to the Family Test guidance published by the Department for Work and Pensions in October 2014.

Visas: Syria

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications by Syrian nationals resident in Syria for UK visitor visas have been (a) received and (b) granted in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Scotland Office

Local Government: Scotland

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent steps the Government has taken on approving the City Deal proposals for the (a) Inverness, (b) Aberdeen and (c) Edinburgh city regions; and if he will make a statement.

David Mundell: I was pleased to be in Aberdeen on 28 January to announce a £250 million City Deal for the city and region. We are currently considering the Inverness and Edinburgh proposals and hope to make an announcement on next steps shortly.

Citizens Advice Scotland

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, when Ministers in his Department last met Citizens Advice Scotland; what was discussed at that meeting; and if he will make a statement.

David Mundell: I last met Citizens Advice Scotland on 3 August 2015 in Edinburgh. We discussed a range of matters, including the implementation of the Smith Commission Agreement.

Domestic Visits: Scotland

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, which local authorities in Scotland on what dates he (a) has visited and (b) plans to visit.

David Mundell: a) I have visited the following local authorities in Scotland:City of Edinburgh – 29 July 2015Western Isles – 30 July 2015Highland – 25 August 2015Angus – 2 September 2015Dundee City – 2 September 2015Perth and Kinross – 22 September 2015East Lothian – 23 September 2015Aberdeen City – 28 September 2015Aberdeenshire – 28 September 2015Ayrshire – 29 September 2015Shetland Islands – 30 September 2015Orkney Islands – 1 October 2015South Lanarkshire – 8 October 2015South Ayrshire – 8 October 2015Glasgow City with PUS – 19 October 2015Renfrewshire – 5 November 2015East Renfrewshire – 5 November 2015Inverclyde – 5 November 2015North Ayrshire – 6 November 2015Midlothian – 23 November 2015West Lothian – 23 November 2015Scottish Borders – 23 November 2015East Dunbartonshire – 3 December 2015Fife – 4 December 2015Falkirk – 7 December 2015Clackmannanshire – 7 December 2015North Lanarkshire – 10 December 2015Stirling – 14 December 2015   b) I plan to visit the following local authorities in Scotland in early 2016 (dates to be confirmed):Argyll and ButeMorayDumfries & GallowayWest Dunbartonshire

Scotland Office: Employment Agencies

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many recruitment and employment agencies his Department has used to source staff in each year since 2010-11.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office used two recruitment agencies to source staff since 2010-11.

UK Membership of EU: Referendums

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2015 to Question 7427, what discussions he has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on the implications of holding a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU within eight weeks of elections to the Scottish Parliament.

David Mundell: The UK Government has held discussions with representatives from the Devolved Administrations throughout the renegotiation process and the UK’s renegotiation is a standing agenda item at the Joint Ministerial Committee’s Europe meetings.The Prime Minister has been clear that the referendum must follow a renegotiation of the UK’s relationship with the EU. Timing will therefore depend on progress of the renegotiation. The Government has made no decisions on the date, except to specifically rule out holding it on 5 May 2016 and 4 May 2017, to avoid coinciding with the various elections, including elections in Scotland, which are scheduled to take place on those days.

HM Treasury

Tax Allowances

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department submitted a formal application to the European Commission for state aid clearance to enlarge the scheme for social interest tax relief; and when he expects to receive the outcome of that application.

Mr David Gauke: The Government submitted its application for State aid clearance to enlarge the Social Interest Tax Relief scheme on 17 January 2015. Discussions with the Commission are ongoing. The Government cannot set out an expected timetable for clearance or enlargement of the scheme at this stage, as timing depends on how these discussions progress.

Revenue and Customs: Greater London

Tulip Siddiq: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of (a) calls attempts to HM Revenue and Customs customer helplines were handled and (b) post to HM Revenue and Customs was handled within 15 working days from customers in (i) London and (ii) Hampstead and Kilburn constituency in each year since 2009-10.

Mr David Gauke: Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold data by constituency and regularly publishes general performance reports at Gov.uk

Community Amateur Sports Club Scheme

David Mowat: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment Treasury and Revenue and Customs officials have made of the effect on multi-sports clubs of the changes to Community Amateur Sport Club status to impose a cap on non-member income; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Hinds: The £100,000 cap for community amateur sports clubs (CASCs) scheme’s non-member trading and property income was assessed to be as generous as the scheme could allow without incurring State aid issues. CASCs benefit from generous tax and business rate reliefs. They should not be competing unfairly, in commercial terms, with private sports clubs or the hospitality sector who do not receive these reliefs. CASCs with high levels of non-member trading income may wish to consider setting up trading subsidiaries which are owned by the CASC, or reduce their income received from non-members and property to ensure they meet the income condition.

Treasury: World Economic Forum

Paul Flynn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he visited the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2016, in his official capacity.

Harriett Baldwin: Details of ministerial overseas travel are published quarterly and are available on the gov.uk website.

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

Nusrat Ghani: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of people aged (a) 21 to 64 and (b) 65 and over who pay income tax pay tax at the higher rate.

Mr David Gauke: The information is not held in the form requested. Information on the number of taxpayers liable at the higher and additional rates of tax is set out in HM Revenue and Customs’ National Statistics table 2.1. This is available at the following internet address: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/429111/Table_2.1.pdf This data covers the number of taxpayers aged under 65 years old as well as those aged 65 and over.

Overseas Aid

Stephen Phillips: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to table 2.7 on page 85 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, which Departments will fund the cross-government overseas development aid spending set out in that table in each of the five years from 2015-16 to 2019-20.

Greg Hands: As set out in the strategy for official development assistance “UK Aid: tackling global challenges in the national interest”, published on 23 November, meeting our responsibilities to the world’s poorest while also serving and protecting the UK’s interests and security, requires us to harness skills from across government. The cross government ODA funding in “Table 2.7: Department for International Development (DFID)” is part of DFID’s total DEL settlement. DFID will transfer this to other government departments and cross government funds to spend on activities that can be classified as Official Development Assistance (ODA) according to the OECD definition.

Pensions: Tax Allowances

Rob Marris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the evidential basis is for tax relief on pension contributions encouraging savings in pension schemes.

Mr David Gauke: The Government launched a consultation on the future of pensions tax relief at the Summer Budget 2015. The Government has been consulting on whether there is a case for reforming pensions tax relief to strengthen incentives to save, and offer savers greater simplicity and transparency, or whether it would be best to keep with the current system. The Government will publish its response to the consultation at Budget 2016.

Married People: Tax Allowances

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have claimed the marriage allowance introduced in April 2015 to date; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that eligible people apply for that allowance.

Mr David Gauke: As of 28 January 2016, 332,301 couples have successfully claimed Marriage Allowance. All eligible couples can apply on the GOV.UK website, or by phoning HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).HMRC has extensively marketed Marriage Allowance, including through digital and press advertising, and social and free media. HMRC plans further activities over the coming months to raise awareness.

Public Sector: Redundancy Pay

Kevin Brennan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government's proposals to cap public sector exit payments will explicitly exclude those workers who are retiring due to ill-health.

Kevin Brennan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which public sector organisations will not be covered by the public sector exit payments cap proposed in the Enterprise Bill.

Greg Hands: The Government consulted on implementing a public sector exit payment cap in July 2015. The Government response to this consultation was published on 16 September 2015. This response provides detail on which organisations and types of payments the Government intends to capture within the scope of the public sector exit payment cap. This accords with the Government’s manifesto commitment to end tax payer funded six figure payoffs for public sector workers.The response document can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/464367/Public_sector_exit_payments_response.pdfThe exit payment cap will apply to payments made as a result of an employee leaving their employment. It will not affect any pension a person has earned through their years of service or have any impact on accrued pension rights or pension lump sum entitlements on retirement. It will capture contributions, made by the employer, to fund early access to an unreduced or partially reduced pension. This is because such costs are ultimately funded by the tax payer.The Government has been clear that early retirements relating to ill health are outside the scope of the cap and will not be affected. Additionally, any payments directed by a Court or Tribunal will not be included in the scope of the cap.Exits on compassionate grounds are not such a clearly defined concept as exits related to ill health or redundancy. There will generally be a large degree of employer discretion on the terms of such exits, and on any payments. In these cases there will be discretion available to relax the cap in individual cases, subject to relevant Ministerial or local council approval, as will be set out in further detail in forthcoming Treasury guidance and directions.

Public Sector: Redundancy Pay

Kevin Brennan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to implement automatic indexing of the proposed public sector exit payment cap.

Kevin Brennan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to exempt employers from the proposed public sector exit payment cap if an employer can demonstrate that they are in the middle of an ongoing restructuring exercise.

Greg Hands: The Government made a manifesto commitment to end six-figure payouts in the public sector and wants to do so as soon as possible. These payments cost around £2 billion a year and it is important that they are fair, proportionate and provide value for money to the taxpayer that funds them. As such, the Government does not see any case for transitional arrangements to delay ending six-figure exit payments. However, the power for Ministers to relax the restrictions imposed by the cap provides the flexibility to do so in appropriate circumstances. Automatic indexing would fail to offer the flexibility that the clause currently provides for. As it stands, the Government can amend the level of the cap to take into account all prevailing circumstances, and with the additional scrutiny of the affirmative resolution procedure in Parliament.

Landfill Communities Fund

Kerry McCarthy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the capacity of landfill operators to pay 10 per cent of qualifying contributions under the Landfill Communities Fund; and if he will allow more flexibility in the sourcing of the match funding.

Damian Hinds: The Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) is a tax credit scheme into which landfill operators contribute voluntarily. Information on the impact of the changes to the LCF announced at Autumn Statement 2015 is set out in Reform and value of the Landfill Communities Fund. This document can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reform-and-value-of-the-landfill-communities-fund/reform-and-value-of-the-landfill-communities-fund The government has received representations from a number of waste operators on this issue. We are taking views into consideration and our priority is to ensure that the LCF operates effectively and encourages money to be spent in the communities that need it.

Landfill Communities Fund

Kerry McCarthy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of the proposed changes to the Landfill Communities Fund on the number of community projects supported by that Fund each year.

Damian Hinds: The Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) is a tax credit scheme into which landfill operators contribute voluntarily. The government does not generate estimates for the number of projects supported by the scheme each year. ENTRUST, the regulator of the LCF, publishes information about projects funded by the scheme. This information is available on their website at: http://www.entrust.org.uk/environmental-bodies/project-search/ Further information on the impact of the changes to the LCF announced at Autumn Statement 2015 is set out in Reform and value of the Landfill Communities Fund. This document can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reform-and-value-of-the-landfill-communities-fund/reform-and-value-of-the-landfill-communities-fund

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Environment Protection: Investment

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate her Department has made of the amount of (a) public and (b) private sector investment needed to fulfil Government targets for low-carbon infrastructure and supply chain investment in each year to 2025.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 25 January 2016



The National Infrastructure Pipeline provides annual estimates of investment in the Energy Sector. The 2015 publication of the National Infrastructure Pipeline [1] estimates £141bn worth of investment up to 2020/21 with a further £103bn post 2020/21. The figures do not distinguish between private and public investment. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-infrastructure-pipeline-july-2015

Renewable Energy

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she plans to take to increase renewable energy generation when the renewables obligation scheme ends in 2017.

Andrea Leadsom: We have announced our intention to hold three Contract for Difference (CfD) allocation rounds during this Parliament, supporting large scale renewable projects at a far lower cost to the consumer than under the renewables obligation. Provided cost reductions are made, this could support to 10GW of new offshore wind in the 2020s. We are considering how we can best ensure a level playing field between renewable and other generation technologies and we are listening to ideas from industry about how this can be achieved. A number of stakeholders have suggested the concept of a market stabilising CFD for pot 1 technologies and welcome thoughts on this.

Climate Change: Northern Ireland

Danny Kinahan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the impact of the Energy Bill on Northern Ireland's ability to contribute to the achievement of the UK's international climate change obligations.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government is committed to delivering on our domestic, EU and international climate change targets. We are confident of meeting our ambition of 30% of electricity generation from renewable sources by 2020. Northern Ireland continues to play its part, with electricity generation from renewables increasing from 19.5% in 2013 to 22.2% in 2014.

Coal Fired Power Stations

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of electricity in the UK was generated by UK coal-fired power stations in 2015.

Andrea Leadsom: DECC will publish finalised energy market statistics including figures for electricity generation in 2015 later this year. However, provisional figures [1] show that coal accounted for 22% of UK electricity supplied over Q1 – Q3 in 2015 compared to 28% in the same period in 2014. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/487838/Electricity.pdf

Nuclear Power Stations: Construction

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions she has had with energy companies on the progress of building new nuclear power stations.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 01 February 2016



The Government is committed to a significant expansion in new nuclear power. Investors have set out proposals for to develop 18 gigawatts of new nuclear at six sites. The Government regularly meets the companies involved to discuss their progress.

Coal Fired Power Stations: Germany

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions she has had with her German counterparts on the building of new coal power stations in that country.

Andrea Leadsom: Ministers and officials in the Department regularly discuss a range of energy and climate change issues with their German counterparts.

Sellafield: Procurement

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the Government target is for the procurement of goods and services from the local Sellafield Ltd supply chain; how this target is monitored and enforced; and whether there are sanctions that would apply were this target not to be met.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Sellafield: Procurement

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assistance the Government has made available to local supply chain companies not able to participate in the Sellafield Ltd goods and services procurement process.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Sellafield: Procurement

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of goods and services has been procured from (a) companies in the local supply chain and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises by Sellafield Ltd in each of the last six years.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Sellafield: Finance

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the annual budget of Sellafield was in each year since 2010.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Renewable Energy: Employment

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2015 to Question 18516, what assessment she has made of the effect of the removal of eligibility for Renewables Obligation certificates for onshore wind on the number of jobs in the renewable energy sector.

Andrea Leadsom: An impact assessment (IA) considering the potential effects of the Government’s proposals to close the Renewables Obligation (RO) early, in order to deliver on the manifesto commitment to end subsidies for new onshore wind projects, was published on 8 September 2015, with an update published on 8 October 2015. The IA can be viewed online at: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-007F.pdfhttp://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-007D.pdf As noted in the IA, there were an estimated 19,000 people employed in the onshore wind sector in 2013, including in the supply chain.1 The IA suggests, under the central scenario, that ending RO support could have a small impact on employment in this sector compared with the ‘do nothing’ option. [1] BIS (March 2015), The Size and Performance of the UK Low Carbon Economy: tps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/low-carbon-economy-size-and-performance

Renewable Energy

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she plans to take to support feasibility studies into local renewable energy projects beyond 2017, following the end of the Rural Community Energy Fund.

Andrea Leadsom: This Government is committed to the devolution of powers and responsibilities to local people and local decision makers. We believe that this will allow them to identify and develop their local area as they want and optimising the assets and resources available to them. To date, over 40 areas have submitted interest in this process and a number of devolution deals have been signed many including energy as a significant part of that deal. DECC will continue to support local areas in developing their own plans.In the meantime, the Rural Community Energy Fund continues not only to fund feasibility but also delivery of projects for local renewables. Our heat networks delivery unit and Salix are supporting other local energy priorities, and we announced significant additional funding for both schemes during this Parliament.

Fossil Fuels: Licensing

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what criteria were applied when determining the boundaries of blocks offered in the 14th Onshore Oil and Gas Licensing Round by the Oil and Gas Authority.

Andrea Leadsom: The boundaries of those blocks offered in the 14th Onshore Oil and Gas Licensing Round mirrored those covered by the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) assessment carried out prior to the launch of the 14th Round. The area of the SEA was determined by the areas with most potential for hydrocarbons in Great Britain.

Cabinet Office

Civil Servants: Training

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the overall cost was of residential training for civil servants in each of the last three years.

Matthew Hancock: This information is not held centrally.

Carbon Monoxide: Poisoning

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy that comprehensive statistics are collated on the incidence of deaths and hospitalisations as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Letter to Member - Incidence of Deaths
(PDF Document, 122.6 KB)

Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs: Misuse

Luciana Berger: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2016 to Question 23621, which (a) charitable trusts and foundations, (b) institutional investors and (c) dedicated social impact funds have invested in drug and alcohol addiction.

Mr Rob Wilson: There are a broad range of charitable trusts and foundations working in this area, including Action Against Addiction, Mind and the Lifeline Project. Institutional investors such as Big Society Capital and Bridges Ventures have a track record of investing in programmes focused upon tackling complex social problems of this type. We will be working closely with all of these stakeholders to ensure that the Life Chances Fund has a real impact in helping to tackle drug and alcohol addiction.

Prescription Drugs: Death

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, in how many deaths in the last two years consumption of an excess of prescription drugs was the primary cause.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Letter to Member - Prescription Drug Deaths
(PDF Document, 327.42 KB)

Voluntary Work: Young People

Liam Byrne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish his plans for the future of the National Citizen Service.

Mr Rob Wilson: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Public Sector: Employment

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which 100 constituencies have the highest proportion of public sector employees.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



Excel Table for Member
(Excel SpreadSheet, 13.65 KB)




UKSA Letter for Member - Constitutencies
(PDF Document, 66.98 KB)

Social Problems

Luciana Berger: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2016 to Question 23474, when the detailed criteria for the Life Chances Fund will be published.

Mr Rob Wilson: The Life Chances Fund is being designed and delivered by the Cabinet Office. More detailed guidance about how the fund will work will be published before the House rises for summer recess in 2016.

Department of Health

Nurses

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure that records of the training history of the nurses convicted at Nursing and Midwifery Council hearings are kept on the same basis as such data in such cases by the General Medical Council.

Ben Gummer: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 11 January 2016.The correct answer should have been:

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom. The NMC is responsible for delivery of its statutory functions including maintaining a register of all nurses and midwives eligible to work in the UK and for pursuing fitness to practise investigations against its registrants in the interests of public protection. On each of the NMC and General Medical Council (GMC) websites there is a facility to search the professional registers and to check the registration status of a registrant. Where an NMC registrant has been struck-off the register, their record is removed from the register and they would not be found on a register search. However, the NMC does publish information about fitness to practise (FtP) allegations, hearings, outcomes and sanctions elsewhere on its website in accordance with its FtP publication and disclosure policy. Where a GMC registrant is erased from the medical register, their record remains and could be found in a register search with details of the FtP sanction. Both of these regulators maintain public records about individuals who have been struck off or erased from their professional registers and these records are available through their respective websites.It is a matter for the regulators themselves to determine how they manage their publication and disclosure policy in relation to fitness to practice, within the legislative frameworks in which they operate.

Ben Gummer: The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom. The NMC is responsible for delivery of its statutory functions including maintaining a register of all nurses and midwives eligible to work in the UK and for pursuing fitness to practise investigations against its registrants in the interests of public protection. On each of the NMC and General Medical Council (GMC) websites there is a facility to search the professional registers and to check the registration status of a registrant. Where an NMC registrant has been struck-off the register, their record is removed from the register and they would not be found on a register search. However, the NMC does publish information about fitness to practise (FtP) allegations, hearings, outcomes and sanctions elsewhere on its website in accordance with its FtP publication and disclosure policy. Where a GMC registrant is erased from the medical register, their record remains and could be found in a register search with details of the FtP sanction. Both of these regulators maintain public records about individuals who have been struck off or erased from their professional registers and these records are available through their respective websites.It is a matter for the regulators themselves to determine how they manage their publication and disclosure policy in relation to fitness to practice, within the legislative frameworks in which they operate.

Mental Health Services: Pregnant Women

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress is being made on conducting antenatal mental health assessments.

Alistair Burt: Our commitment to improving perinatal mental health was demonstrated by the Prime Minister’s recent announcement of a £290 million investment over the next five years to 2020/21 in perinatal mental health services. This builds on the initial investment of £75 million announced in the March 2015 Budget, making a total investment from 2015/16 to 2020/21 of £365million. The National Institute for Health Care and Excellence guidelines recommend that during a pregnant women’s first contact with primary care or when booking her first appointment she should be asked how she is feeling. This will enable a sensitive conversation and, if appropriate, for a referral to her general practitioner for further assessment or, if a severe mental health problem is suspected, to a mental health professional. It has been recognised that more information is needed about perinatal mental health. The Health and Social Care Information Centre is working on the implementation of a new Mental Health Services Dataset which will seek to increase the amount of data available about antenatal mental health assessments. We expect that some initial data on perinatal mental health will be available later this year. We will use this initial information to refine how data on perinatal mental health is collected going forward.

Mental Health Services: Females

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that mental health services take account of the experiences and needs of women (a) in general and (b) who have experienced extensive abuse.

Alistair Burt: The focus of our mental health service transformation is supporting increased equitable access to high quality care for all people. Local health economies consider the local populations needs, including access to services, when they commission and provide services and support. The Prime Minister recently announced a £290 million investment over the next five years to 2020/21 in perinatal mental health services. This builds on the initial investment announced in the March 2015 Budget, making a total investment from 2015/16 to 2020/21 of £365 million. The settlement is expected to enable NHS England to build capacity and capability in perinatal mental health services, with the aim of increasing access to The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence-concordant care for women in all areas of England by 2020/21. We know that vulnerable women can experience abuse and that abuse can also increase vulnerability. It can take many years, if at all, for women to disclose that they have been sexually or otherwise abused, whether as adults or children. The Department is exploring how enquiries can be routinely made of patients using a number of services such as substance misuse, adult mental health and sexual health clinics to help with early identification and support for women to get the services that they need, much earlier. Health care professionals are in a unique position to identify abuse and to intervene early with women to direct them to the most appropriate statutory and non-statutory services for support. Focussing health professionals on better identification and actions that will break the cycle of violence, means that health care staff can then enable those affected to access the therapeutic support they need, including counselling.

Bone Marrow Disorders: Donors

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps his Department has taken to increase the number of bone marrow donors in the UK.

Jane Ellison: The Department has provided £19 million in additional funding to improve the provision of stem cells through the work of our delivery partners, NHS Blood and Transplant and Anthony Nolan since 2011. This funding has supported a range of developments including the targeted recruitment of young male donors. To date over 75,000 young male donors have been recruited and evidence shows that these donors are approximately six times more likely to be requested to donate.

Health: Young People

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the What About YOUth survey, published 8 December 2015, what assessment he has made of the findings of that survey; and if he will commission further research on the health behaviour of young lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

Jane Ellison: We want all young people to have healthy lives, and reducing inequalities is central to our work. We have increased the National Health Service budget by £10 billion and introduced legal duties to ensure inequalities are taken into account when planning health services. Further research on the health of young lesbian, gay and bisexual people has not been commissioned. The data collected through What About YOUth survey is available on a dedicated tool on the Public Health England (PHE) Public Health Profiles webpage. Key indicators on this page can be viewed partitioned by different factors, such as sexuality, gender, ethnic groups and deprivation deciles. PHE has developed an action plan to address the health and wellbeing inequalities experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. A strand of this work considers ways to reduce the risk of suicide experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and includes training for nurses in a range of health and community settings and in schools. The Department is aware of the difficulties experienced by some LGB patients in accessing primary care, in response to this the Department recently funded work by the Lesbian & Gay Foundation to develop a benchmarking tool to identify general practitioner surgeries that are fully committed to assuring that their surgery is fully accessible to lesbian, gay and bisexual people, including their young LGB patients.

NHS: Staff

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government has taken to increase the number of BAME (a) executive and (b) non-executive staff of (i) NHS trusts, (ii) clinical commissioning groups and (iii) related arms length bodies since 2012.

Jane Ellison: In 2014, NHS England, in partnership with the National Health Service and arm’s length bodies, developed a Workforce Race Equality Standard which requires NHS organisations to demonstrate progress against a number of indicators of workforce race equality, including a specific indicator to address the low levels of Black and Minority Ethnic representation at Board level. Since April 2015, the Standard has been included in the NHS contract for providers, and it will feature in the new assessment framework for clinical commissioning groups for 2016/17. The Standard has also been included in the Care Quality Commission’s inspections of provider organisations. In addition to supporting the implementation of the Standard, the arm’s length bodies are also applying it to their own workforces. Further information on the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard can be found at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/gov/equality-hub/equality-standard/ The Department keeps diversity in focus throughout the appointments process for non-executives of arm’s length bodies. The Department’s “Non-Executive Appointments Diversity Action Plan” is published annually which outlines progress and actions to improve the diversity of public appointments and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/445660/Diversity_Action_Plan_14_15.pdf Cabinet Office publishes annual diversity statistics on new public appointments made by United Kingdom Ministers at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/diversity-in-public-appointments#history

Hospitals

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the criteria are for making a ministerial directive against the closure or downsizing of a hospital.

Ben Gummer: The Government is clear the reconfiguration of front line health services is a matter for the local National Health Service. Services should be tailored to meet the needs of the local population and proposals for substantial service change must meet the four tests of reconfiguration which are (i) support from general practitioner commissioners (ii) strengthened public and patient engagement (iii) clarity on the clinical evidence base and (iv) support for patient choice. A local authority has the power to refer NHS substantial reconfiguration proposals to the Secretary of State if they consider:― the consultation has been inadequate in relation to the content or the amount of time allowed;― the NHS body has given inadequate reasons where it has not consulted for reasons of urgency relating to the safety or welfare of patients or staff; or― a proposal would not be in the interests of the health service in its area. Upon receipt of a local authority referral, the Secretary of State can refer the matter to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) for its advice. The Panel will consider whether the proposals will provide safe, sustainable and accessible services for the local population, taking account of factors including: clinical and service quality, patient and public involvement, the surrounding local services and national policies. On receipt of IRP advice, the Secretary of State would then decide whether or not to accept it. Since its inception in 2003, all Secretaries of State have used the IRP advice to inform their decisions.

Nurses: Training

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of nurse training places in each of the next five years.

Ben Gummer: Health Education England (HEE) was established and has been mandated by the Government to provide national leadership on education, training and workforce development in the National Health Service. As one of the arm’s length bodies to help improve the quality of care delivered to patients, it ensures that the future workforce is available in the right numbers with the right skills, values and competencies to meet patient needs today and tomorrow. HEE operate an annual comprehensive planning process to ensure their investments meet the future needs of the population. This process determines the number of training places that will be commissioned by HEE in the following financial year. The planned commissions are published annually in both the HEE commissioning and investment plan and the HEE Workforce Plan for England. The 2016-17 commissioning and investment plan was published in December 2015 and includes the planned number of nurse training commissions for 2016-17. The plan can be found at the following link: https://hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/documents/HEE%20commissioning%20and%20investment%20plan.pdf The HEE annual Workforce Plan for England 2016/17 is planned for publication by the end of February 2016.

Mental Health Services

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions the Minister for Public Health has had with mental health charities on the importance of public mental health interventions.

Alistair Burt: The Minister for Public Health has not held any recent discussions on this subject. Promoting good mental health is a key strategic objective of Public Health England’s (PHE) public mental health programme, alongside preventing mental illness and improving the lives of those living with mental illness. PHE is working with the National Health Service, local authorities and other partners to help more people have good mental health, improve the physical health and wellbeing of those with mental illness, and ensure few people as possible suffer avoidable harm.

Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the budget was for the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England (PHE) was formed on 1 April 2013; below are budgets for the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL) for each year since PHE’s formation. The RIPL was previously part of the Health Protection Agency, whose functions transferred to PHE. 2013/14 (Actual)2014/15 (Actual)2015/16 (Budget)£3,491,300£3,667,600£3,465,300

Care Homes: Staff

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what regulations there are on the ratio of staff to patients in care homes.

Ben Gummer: There are no regulations setting out staff to residents ratio’s in care homes, however all providers of regulated activities have to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and follow a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality below which care should never fall. One of the fundamental standards relates to staffing and requires that a provider must have sufficient numbers of suitability qualified, competent, skilled and experienced persons in order to meet the requirements of residents. The CQC has a wide range of enforcement powers that it can use if the provider is not does not meet the fundamental standards.

Zika Virus

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what monitoring is in place for people returning from countries where the Zika virus has been found to detect the presence of that virus.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England (PHE) and the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) are raising awareness among travellers to ensure they present for medical attention if they develop symptoms, and among health professionals so that they can rapidly investigate and diagnose potential cases of Zika. Updated advice has been published on the PHE Zika virus page and the NaTHNaC website: http://travelhealthpro.org.uk/ PHE is providing tailored advice for relevant health professionals, including obstetricians and general practitioners (GPs). PHE is liaising with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Association of British Travel Agents who have published updates on their respective websites. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has also updated its country travel advice pages with information about Zika virus. If a case of Zika is suspected, samples are sent to PHE’s Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory and positive results are reported to appropriate colleagues in PHE through the standard mechanisms.

Zika Virus

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what additional training has been provided to (a) NHS England and (b) Public Health England personnel on the Zika virus.

Jane Ellison: NHS England continues to work closely with Public Health England (PHE) and Government Departments to ensure appropriate advice is provided to the National Health Service in England in line with the current risk assessment. PHE will provide guidance and information specifically targeted at primary care and this will be available shortly. PHE has also produced regular briefing notes for local health protection teams who have been asked to share this with local NHS. PHE has raised awareness about Zika virus among public health and clinical colleagues within PHE by circulating a briefing note to all staff. This will support clinicians to identify, investigate and manage cases that may present in clinical practice. The briefing note included information about the outbreak in the Americas and the unusual increase in microcephaly cases in Brazil. It highlighted existing resources available to PHE personnel, including the PHE Zika virus page: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/zika-virus and the National Travel Health Network and Centre website: http://travelhealthpro.org.uk/ An additional training session will also be provided to the duty doctors in PHE.

Mental Health Services: Pregnant Women

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 23676, how much funding has been allocated to the HEE Perinatal Mental Health programme in each year since 2010.

Alistair Burt: Health Education England (HEE) was formed in 2013. For data since 2013, HEE does not have information at this level. HEE has various workforce development programmes managed through its thirteen local offices that might support perinatal mental health, but information on expenditure is not collected to this level of detail. HEE has a mandate commitment to ensure that trained specialist mental health staff are available to support mothers in every birthing unit by 2017. And a further mandate commitment requires HEE to work with the Royal Colleges to support perinatal mental health training being incorporated into the postgraduate training syllabus for doctors by 2017.

Mental Health

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to support local authorities in dealing with loneliness as a public health issue.

Alistair Burt: The Government has prioritised prevention through the Care Act 2014. The Department has funded the Social Care Institute for Excellence to develop and run the Prevention Library which includes examples of emerging practice to prevent, reduce or delay deterioration in people’s care and support needs. This includes examples of innovative projects to tackle loneliness. The Department has also supported a ‘digital toolkit’ for local commissioners, which was developed by the Campaign to End Loneliness and is incorporated in its guidance for commissioners. The guidance can be found at: http://campaigntoendloneliness.org/toolkit/ As part of Public Health England’s programme of work to support local action on health inequalities, it commissioned the University College London’s Institute of Health Equity to produce a series of resources setting out practical approaches that local areas could adopt to reduce health inequalities. One resource in the series focuses on social isolation across the lifecourse. It provides information and guidance to support local authorities, National Health Service clinical commissioning groups and their stakeholders to develop effective strategies to prevent and reduce social isolation. The Secretary of State made a speech at the National Children and Adult Services conference in 2013 and at the Local Government Association annual conference in June 2015 about loneliness and isolation in older people which can be found at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24572231 and http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jul/01/invite-lonely-elderly-strangers-home-jeremy-hunt

General Practitioners: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GPs were aged (a) 50 or younger, (b) between 50 and 60 and (c) over 60 in (i) London, (ii) each London borough and (iii) each trust in London in January 2016.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average age of GPs was in (a) London, (b) each London borough and (c) each trust in London in January in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: The information is not available in the format requested. The tables attached show the information for the ages of general practitioners (GPs) broken down by clinical commissioning group prior to 2013 and primary care trust for the years 2010 to 2013 for Question 24853 and also the ages of GPs at 30 September 2014 which is the most recent data available for Question 24852.



Average age of GPs in London 2010-2014
(Excel SpreadSheet, 25.33 KB)




GPs by selected agebands in London - 30 Sept 2014
(Excel SpreadSheet, 31.13 KB)

General Practitioners: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GPs retired in (a) London, (b) each London borough and (c) each trust in London in each year since 2010.

Alistair Burt: The information requested is not centrally held.

Department of Health: Families

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has issued to support the implementation of the Family Test.

Jane Ellison: Officials in the Department have liaised with the Department for Work and Pensions as the lead Department for the Family Test to embed it and encourage routine use of the Test. This has included training officials on applying the Test, disseminating relevant evidence, learning materials and best practice. The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014 through the publication of guidance for officials - Family Test Guidance. The Department of Health is working to raise awareness of the Family Test amongst its policy staff, so that the impact of policy on the family is considered as a matter of course. We have highlighted the Family Test through the Policy Kit, an online resource for Departmental policy officials. The Family Test is also highlighted in policy induction training, which is available to staff who are new to policy roles in the Department of Health.

Diabetes

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of (a) children and (b) adults were Type 2 diabetic in (i) each primary care trust in London, (ii) each London borough, (iii) London and (iv) England in (A) 2000, (B) 2005, (C) 2010 and (D) 2015.

Jane Ellison: Data for children on Type 2 diabetes is collected from paediatric diabetes clinics by the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit (NPDA). Data are available from 2011, but not by primary care trust (PCT) or clinical commissioning group (CCG). When making comparisons it should be remembered that more units participated in the most recent audit than earlier ones. These data are found at: http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/national-paediatric-diabetes-audit-npda. Diagnosed diabetes prevalence in England is taken from the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) and represents all patients aged 17 and over who have been diagnosed with diabetes and included on general practice (GP) registers. No distinction is made in the type of diabetes that has been diagnosed, i.e. Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. However, it is estimated approximately 90% of all adults with diabetes have Type 2 diabetes (source: National Diabetes Audit). The proportion of all people on the diabetes register in 2005/06 was 3.55% for England and 3.60% for London. In 2010/2011 and 2014/2015 the data are presented as the proportion of people aged 17 and over on the diabetes register and are not directly comparable to the data in 2005/06. In 2010/11 the proportion of people aged 17 on the diabetes register was 5.50% for England and 5.40% for London, in 2014/15 the proportion of people aged 17 on the diabetes register was 6.40% for England and 6.10% for London. The data in QOF is presented by PCT and GP registers in 2005/06 and 2010/11 and by CCG and GP registers in 2014/15 and is not available by local authority. Data at a subnational level can be access from the Health and Social Care Information Services website: http://www.hscic.gov.uk/qof

Obesity: Children

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health of 21 January 2016, Official Report, column 1634, when his Department plans to release the Government's comprehensive childhood obesity strategy.

Jane Ellison: We will be launching our childhood obesity strategy shortly.

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve care for people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Jane Ellison: NHS England commissions services for patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) as part of its specialised services remit. Its respiratory interstitial lung disease (adult) specification, which includes IPF, sets out what it expects to be in place in order for providers to offer evidence based, safe and effective services. It is available on the NHS England website at: http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/a14-respiratory-inters-lung.pdf This specification is currently being updated to ensure it includes the most up to date guidance on IPF including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) quality standards published in January 2015. The quality dashboards for specialised respiratory services commissioned by NHS England include metrics specific to IPF so it will be possible to ensure that the standard of care is uniform across centres in England. These dashboards are a key tool in monitoring the quality of services, enabling comparison between service providers and supporting improvements over time in the outcomes of services commissioned by NHS England. Not all aspects of care for IPF are covered by direct commissioning. For example, rehabilitation, oxygen services and acute admissions for exacerbations will be covered by local commissioning arrangements. Work continues at a local level to develop appropriate care pathways for IPF patients to ensure joined up commissioning of the specialist and non-specialist components of IPF management. NICE quality standards set out markers of high quality care in a particular disease or service area, and are designed to drive up standards of care and to reduce inequalities and variation. In June 2013, NICE published its clinical guideline on IPF, offering evidence based advice to support clinicians in diagnosing and managing patients with the condition. Treatment is covered by the NICE guideline on IPF and the subsequent supplement on perfenidone. NICE published technology appraisal guidance in January 2016 recommending the drug nintedanib as an option for patients with IPF meeting specific clinical criteria.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Mental Illness

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2016 to Question 23220, when he expects the project to which he referred to publish its recommendations.

Jane Ellison: We do not expect the recommendations to be available until early 2017. The mandatory recording of primary diagnosis within accident and emergency departments is expected to be considered within the scope of the work to develop an improved data set for urgent and emergency care. Given the scale and complexity of the project, the final report is not expected before 2017.

Care Homes: Closures

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what contingency plans the Government has in the event a major care provider is in a financial position where it is no longer able to continue to provide its services.

Alistair Burt: Local authorities retain responsibility for managing provider failure in the social care market. The Government has worked with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and partners to publish guidance to support local authorities to develop contingency plans for managing the failure of a social care provider in their local area. The guidance can be found at: http://www.lgiu.org.uk/report/care-and-continuity-guide/  The Government is working with local authorities to ensure they have effective and up to date plans in place. The Care Act also gave the Care Quality Commission (CQC) a new function to oversee the finances of care providers which are either large or whose provision is geographically concentrated as their financial failure would make it difficult for local authorities to discharge their statutory responsibilities. The oversight function will provide early warning to relevant local authorities in the event that one of these providers is likely to fail and their services cease. This will allow local authorities time to implement contingency plans. The Government is working with the CQC and the sector to monitor risks to the system and will develop bespoke contingency plans to support local government to manage provider failure, where appropriate.

Women and Equalities

Females: Public Appointments

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many meetings she has had on increasing the number of women receiving public appointments since May 2015.

Caroline Dinenage: I am working closely with the Cabinet Office to modernise recruitment practices and attract a more diverse field of candidates from an ever-wider range of social and professional backgrounds.This includes engaging with government departments, the private sector and a range of different diversity networks and groups. We have engaged with them through online advertising, social media and at events to promote and raise awareness of public appointments and better understand the barriers or concerns for those considering a public appointment.The most recent figures published show that we are making real, consistent, progress in increasing the number of public appointments going to women. Last financial year 44% of new appointments were made to women.

Equal Pay

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what the Government's timetable is for introducing measures to place a duty on larger employers to publish information about bonuses paid to men and women as part of their gender pay gap reporting.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what the Government's timetable is for introducing measures to implement a gender pay gap reporting among (a) public sector, (b) private sector and (c) voluntary sector employees.

Caroline Dinenage: Eliminating the gender pay gap is a key priority for this government. We will shortly seek views on the draft regulations requiring large private and voluntary sector employers in Great Britain to publish information about differences in the pay and bonuses paid to male and female employees. The government wants to commence these regulations at the earliest opportunity. We have also pledged to extend these requirements to the public sector. Public bodies will be covered by different regulations, following a further consultation that we will issue soon.